Wales' journal on the Resolution

William Wales' journal records the measurements and details of the voyage on board the Resolution. He kept a log of the ship's course, the wind and weather, along with a detailed and lively account of life on board and ashore. He recounts the scenery and people of New Zealand, Easter Island, Tonga, Tahiti and the Society Islands, New Caledonia and Norfolk Island.

Continuing south on their voyage in 1773, Cook and his crew crossed the Antarctic Circle for the first time in history. The Resolution became surrounded by pack ice and icicles formed all over the ship's rigging and sometimes fell onto the deck.

Wales writes of the ice islands encompassing the ship, retrieving chunks of ice for drinking water and describes the stunning Aurora Australis that appeared in the evening sky.

The account breaks off before the end of the voyage, while the Resolution was at Norfolk Island. Wales' journal was one of the sources used by Cook to write his official account of the voyage.

> Read the complete William Wales journal on the Resolution, via the Library's catalogue

Transcription, William Wales - Journal on the Resolution, 21 June 1772-17 Oct. 1774, Manuscript, Safe 1/84

[Page 105]

Tuesday, February 16th 1773

Weather
Light breezes; cloudy
do
Thick with snow
Moderate wind. Do

Remarks
Shortened sail.

weather
Thick with snow
Do. do.

Remarks
At leaving the Cape of Good Hope I had desired the Lieut; the other officers who kept watch to be as obliging as to tell me if they saw extraordinary appearance in the heavens and this morning Mr. Pickersgill told me that he had seen something like the Aurora Borealis; but that he had not time to apprise me of it before the clouds returned and covered it.

Weather
Do. do.
Do. do.

Remarks
Saw an Island of Ice and bore down to it to water, if possible.

Weather
Do. Cloudy

Remarks
Saw a Whale.

Wednesday February 17th 1773

Weather
Moderate wind; cloudy
Do. do.
Do. do.
Do. do.
Do. do.

Remarks
About noon came close under the Lee of the above mentioned Island of Ice, and were by a kind of indraught or some means or other insensibly sucked so near that we had scarce any probability of being drove against it which must have been inevitable destruction and it was equally unknown also how we got off without, and we had scarce got ½ a cables length from it before several pieces almost as large as the ship broke off from that very part where we were then.  Pieces were soon broke into lesser ones; boats were hoisted out to pick them up as soon as the ship was got at a convenient distance.  When we had got as much ice as suited us the boats were hoisted again; we made sail.
About 13h Mr. Clarke informed me that the same appearance which Mr. Pickersgill had seen the night before was very bright. I got up and found it the very same with what we call the Northern Lights in England.
Variation by azimuth 41deg; 45’ W. doubtful

Weather
Do. Clear
Do. flying Clouds

Remarks
Longit. by dist O ; D 83deg; 05’E
Variation by Azimuth 39.35W
When I got up in the night the natural state of the heavens except a little towards the S.E. and about 10 deg; high all round horizon was a whitish haze through which stars of ye 3rd magnitude were just descernable.  All round ye horizon was covered with thick clouds out of which arose streams of a pale reddish light that ascended towards the zenith.  The streams had not that motion that they are seen to have in the Northern parts of England but were perfectly steady except that they had a small tremulous motion near ye edges.

[page 106]

Thursday Febuary 18th 1773

Weather
Moderate wind; cloudy.

Remarks
Many very large Islands of ice near us.
Variation by Azimuth
(37deg; 44’)
(38.45)
(39.58)
(37.18) W.

Weather
South wind; Cloudy

Remarks
Five Islands of Ice in sight – Shortened sail.
Got all the Ice stowed away and found that it amounted to about 7 Tuns of water besides about two or three Tuns which is left on the Deck for present use.

Weather
Do. do.
Do. do.

Remarks
Made sail

Weather
Do.  snow
Do. cloudy

Remarks
Ten islands of ice in sight all very large

Friday Febuary 19th 1773

Weather
Brisk wind; snow

Remarks
Many very large islands of ice in sight.- There seem here none but exceeding large ones, and they all appear very sound an perfect

Weather
Do.; very squally

Remarks
The Aurora Australis very bright at times. The colours were much more various and vivid than on Wednesday night, and the streams had much more motion so that they were extreamly beautiful.

Weather
Do. do.

Remarks
Variation by azimuth  41deg;51¼’ W.

Weather
Do.  clear

Remarks
All the forenoon were passing continually by exceedingly large and high islands of ice, so that the sea had truly tremendous appearance.

Weather
Do. do.

Remarks
Light exceeding large islands of ice in sight.

[Page 107]

Saturday Febuary 20th 1773

Weather
Moderate wind; hazy

Remarks
About one oclock tacked and stood westward; some being of opinion that they saw land in that quarter.
At 3 oclock, tacked again; the land being gone.

Weather
Do. do.
Do. do.

Remarks
Many large islands of ice in sight.
Variation  40deg; 13`W.
Do. 40.49 W.

Weather
Do. Clear

Remarks
About nine oclock the southern lights sprung up very bright in the East point of the horizon, in  a pillar of steady pale coloured light, making much the same appearance which I used to see in Hudson`s Bay (se Philoss.Transact.1770) only instead of passing directly through the Zenith, it was now deflected towards the south into a kind of circular form; the lights grew fainter as it asscended, and quite vanished when it got about 45deg; high; had extended sideways to nearly S.E.

Weather
Do. do.

Remarks
Variation by Azimuth
(35..17)
(35..56 ½) West;very doubtful

Weather
Do.  cloudy
Do. do.

Remarks
Ten large islands of ice in sight.

Sunday February 21st 1773

Weather
Little wind; Cloudy
Do. do.
Do. do.

Remarks
Hoisted out the Boats to pick up the loose Ice that lay about a large Island which we were now abreast of.The top of this Island was full of tall round Hummocs;  but before we left it, it turned quite over and presented a side perfectly smooth and even. At ½ past 6 o’Clock hoisted in the Boats and made sail.

Weather
Do. do.
Do. Snow

Remarks
Variation by Azimuth 40deg;. 58¾’ W.

Weather
Do. much snow

[page 108]

Monday Febuary  22nd. 1773

Weather
Moderate wind;  cloudy
Do. do.

Remarks
21 islands of ice in sight

Weather
Do. do.
Do. do.
Do.  snow
Do. do.

Remarks
Many large islands of ice about us

Weather
Do. Cloudy

Tuesday  Febuary 23rd. 1773

Weather
Strong wind; snow
Do. do.

Remarks
Passed by 8 large islands of ice.

Weather
Do. very thick

Remarks
15 large islands of ice in sight, and so thick that we could not see a mile ; dble reefed the fore-topsail, took in one reef of the main topsail and handed the mizen topsail
At 8 oclock tacked and stood northward.

Weather
Do. Do sleet

Remarks
Wore ship; so very dark that we could scarce see the length

Weather
Do. do.
Do. do.
Do. do.

Remarks
Wore ship again
About 19h a very large island of ice burst in an instant into three large,  and many small pieces just as we came a breast of it ; it made no report, or at least so little, that we could not hear it for the noise of the sea; ye whistling of ye wind in the rigging.
About 22h we passed by one of the most curious islands of ice I ever saw. Its form was that of an old square castle, one end of which had fallen into ruins ; and it had a hole quite through it whose roof so exactly resembled the Gothic arch of an old Postern Gate-way that I believe it would have puzzled an architect to have built it truer.

Remarks
Twenty-three very large Islands of Ice in sight.

Weather
Do. Snow

[Page 109]

Wednesday  Febuary  24th 1773

Weather
Brisk wind with sleet
Moderate & foggy

Remarks
Many large ice island in sight

Weather
Do. do.

Remarks
Six islands of ice in sight

Weather
Do. do.
Calm with snow
Light airs snow

Remarks
Many large islands of ice in sight

Weather
Do.  cloudy

Thursday Febuary  25th 1773

Weather
Light breezes cloudy

Remarks
Variation by Azimuth 
(42 .. 29¼)
(43.. 45) W.

Weather
Do.  Clear

Remarks
21 Islands of ice in sight
The southern lights very bright.

Weather
Do. do.
Do. do.

Remarks
Several islands of ice about us
Variation by Azimuth 
(41..23)
(40..31)
(41..17½)  W.

Weather
Do. do.
Do. very hazy

> Wales and Bayly published their observations in 1777. Read a selection here