DIANA 1807

[aukepalmhof]

The Russian naval officer Vasily Mikhailovich Golovnin (1776-1831) circumnavigation the world in the frigate DIANA.
He was born on the 20th of April 1776 in the village of Gulynki in the province of Ryazan.
He went to Kronstad to the naval school. From 1801 till 1806 he served in the British Navy as a volunteer.
1807 Commissioned by the Russian Government to survey the coast of Kamchatka and Russian America, including the Kurile Islands in the DIANA.

Built as a sloop of war for the Imperial Russian Navy in Sviritse, Russia in 1807.
Launched under the name DIANA.
Tonnage 300 tons (bm), with a length of 27.4 meter.
Wooden hull. Armament 14 – 6pdr, 4 x 8pdr. and four falconets.
Crew 67.

25 July 1807 she sailed from Kronstad, DIANA was first assigned as an escort for the store ship NEVA, but DIANA sailed out nine months later. First Golovnin tried to round Cape Horn, but hampered in the rounding he decided to alter his course and sail to the Cape of Good Hope.
The DIANA sailed east and arrived in Simons Bay, South Africa on 21 April 1808, Golovnin was unaware that after he sailed from Kronstad, Russia and Great Britain had gone to war.
Although he had documents guaranteeing him safe passage by English ships even in war, the Commodore of Simonstown Josias Rowley refused his release.
With neither any money or permission to sell anything, Golovnin could not buy the much-needed provisions, and he did not have any choice than to break his parole and to try to escape.
After careful study of the tidal and wind conditions, on 19 May 1809 at 18.30 with a fresh northwest wind, Golovnin ordered to cut the two anchor cables and set a stormsail. As precaution the British had already ordered to unbent the sails and the topmast housed. It took the next few hours the crew and officers a lot of work to refit topmasts and yards. At 22.00 that night they were in the open ocean, after an arrest of 1 year and 25 days.

She first headed south and set then an easterly course south of Tasmania before heading northward for the New Hebrides, where she anchored in Resolution Harbour on Tana Island on 25 June.
25 September 1809 she arrived at Petropavlovsk after two years and two months out from Kronstad.
Then she made a roundtrip to the Russian settlement on Sitka Island. The whole year of 1810 she stayed at Petropavlovsk.
April 1811 Goloynin got orders to survey the coastline of the Southern Kurile and Shantar Island, and the coast of Tartary from latitude 53 38N to Okhotsk between northern Japan and Kamchatka.
Early July the DIANA arrived at the island of Kunashir for water and provision. Despite efforts to establish goodwill with the Japanese, he was arrested with another officer a midshipman and four sailors. The DIANA escaped from Kunashir, but the seven Russians were kept prison for two years, two months and 26 days, in exchange for Takataya Kahei who was seized by the Russian in the retaliation for the detention of Golovnin and his crew, after they were released on 13 October 1813, they embarked again on the DIANA and sailed to Russian territory.
Golovnin returned to St Petersburg from Okhotsk seven years after his departure.
The DIANA stayed in eastern waters, and ended her days as a munitions ship at Petropavlovsk.

On 07 September 1817 Golovnin sailed out from St Petersburg for an other expedition to Kamchatka via Cape Horn, he arrived the next May there, and returned to St Petersburg on 17 September 1819.
He published several works on his voyages.
12 July 1831 he died.

Russia 1994 250r sg6502, scott6235.

Source: Ships of the World by Lincoln P. Paine. http://100.1911encyclopedia.org/G/GO/GO ... LOVICH.htm

[Anatol]

Russian navigator V.M.Golovin (1776-1831). Russia 1966; 4k.Postal envelope.