Spangberg

Bering delayed, promising a partial report from Spangberg and a fuller report later.

If Bering's party (which reached Okhotsk in October) fared badly, however, Spangberg's fared far worse.

In December 1731 he would be awarded 1000 roubles and promoted to captain-commander, his first noble rank (Spangberg and Chirikov were similarly promoted to captain).

Meanwhile, a fourth ship, the Bolsheretsk was constructed and Spangberg (having identified some 30 Kuril Islands on his first trip) led the four ships on a second voyage, which saw the first Russians land in Japan.

On 29 June 1738, Spangberg set off for the Kuril Islands with the three ships he had prepared.

On 6 January 1727 Spangberg and two other men, who had together formed an advance party carrying the most vital items for the expedition, reached Okhotsk; ten days later sixty others joined them, although many were ill.

St. Petersburg to Kamchatka Spangberg left St. Petersburg in February 1733 with the first (small) detachment of the second expedition, bound for Okhotsk.

The lack of immediate food available to Spangberg's advance party slowed their progress, which hastened dramatically after Bering's and Chirikov's group arrived with provisions.

Whilst Spangberg headed east to Okhotsk, Bering waited in Yakutsk, preparing two ships on the Lena (one would be captained by Vasili Pronchishchev and the other first by Peter Lassenius and later by Dmitry Laptev ).