My dear Margaret,
I am writing this quickly to let you know that I am safe and that we have made excellent progress on our journey.
This letter will be carried back to England by a merchant ship that is now returning from Archangel. That ship will reach home long before I do. If everything goes as planned, I may not see my homeland again for many years.
Still, you do not need to worry about my spirits. I am in good health and feeling hopeful.
My men are brave and seem completely committed to the expedition. Great sheets of floating ice are constantly drifting past us, reminding us of the dangers ahead, but so far they have not frightened anyone.
We have already traveled extremely far north.
It is the middle of summer now. The weather is not as warm as it is in England, of course, but the southern winds have been pushing us quickly toward the distant lands I am so eager to reach.
To my surprise, those winds carry a pleasant warmth with them. After so much cold, that warmth feels wonderfully refreshing.
So far, nothing truly remarkable has happened.
We have experienced a couple of powerful storms, and we have had a small leak in the ship, but these are ordinary problems for experienced sailors. They are hardly worth mentioning in a letter.
I will consider us extremely fortunate if nothing more serious happens during the rest of the voyage.
Goodbye for now, my dear Margaret.
I promise you that I will not take foolish risks. I will remain calm, patient, and careful.
But I still believe that I will succeed.
Why shouldn’t I?
Look how far we have already come.
We have been sailing across waters that no one has properly mapped, finding our way with nothing but the stars above us to guide our course.
Even the stars seem to be witnesses to what we have achieved.
So why should I stop now?
The sea may be wild and unpredictable, but we have already learned how to navigate it.
What can stand against a person who has completely made up his mind and refuses to give up?
My heart is so full of hope and excitement that I could go on writing forever.
But I must stop here.
May heaven bless you, my beloved sister.
R. W.