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3.1.6.wavIn July 1728, Bering and his party sailed the St. Gabriel north along the Siberia coast through the Bering Strait, which now bears his name, into the Arctic Ocean. The voyage lasted only a month. After reaching 67 degrees north latitude, Bering decided to turn back, fearing the ship would be trapped in ice if they went further. Due to storms and fog in Bering Strait, he did not see the North American mainland to the east.
On September 1, 1728, the expedition was back in Kamchatka. From there, Bering started his journey back to St. Petersburg to report his findings. Returning to the Russian capital would take a year and a half. Bering arrived back in St. Petersburg in 1730, more than 5 years after initially leaving.
Bering's First Expedition, 1728
Natives along the Siberian coast had told Bering that Asia and America were separated. Bering believed bringing back this information meant he had carried out his orders. Not everyone agreed with Bering. They argued he had been sent to find out for himself if the continents were separated, not to bring back the reports of others.
The main result of Bering's first expedition was better mapping of key points on Russia's Pacific Ocean coast. A few days after Bering returned to St. Petersburg a brief account of his voyage was published there.
The criticism of his voyage hurt Bering financially and in his naval career. Although he traveled from St. Petersburg to Moscow to report to the Senate of Russia (a group that helped the tsar or tsarina to govern), the Senate failed to vote him the usual 1,000 ruble (the Russian currency) reward given to explorers returning from long voyages. The Senate also refused to pay his salary for the five years of the expedition until two years after his return. In addition, the Russian navy refused to promote Bering.
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