The Storm-Blast Drives the Ship into the Polar Ice

The Storm-Blast Drives the Ship into the Polar Ice is the voyage’s first decisive reversal: after the ship leaves harbour in high spirits, a violent storm drives it south into mist, snow, and towering ice. The crew’s passage through the frozen region makes the sea an immediate physical threat and establishes the harsh conditions from which the later voyage must emerge.

Departure and the Storm

The ship begins this stretch of the voyage with a clear sense of departure and forward motion. It is cheered as the harbour clears, and the crew drops below the kirk and the hill. Against that buoyant opening, the storm arrives as a force described as tyrannous and strong, striking with its overtaking wings. The ship is driven rapidly southward, its movement dictated not by the crew’s chosen course but by the blast.

Entry into the Ice

The storm carries the ship into mist and snow, and the cold becomes extraordinary. Mast-high ice floats past, while the floes close off the crew’s view of both human and animal shapes. Ice lies on every side; it cracks, growls, roars, and howls around the vessel. These details make the danger more than a change in weather: the ship is enclosed in a hostile landscape where navigation and sight are sharply restricted.

Passage and Aftermath

The ice eventually splits with a thunderous sound, allowing the helmsman to steer the ship through. A good south wind then rises behind the vessel, and the Albatross follows it. The contrast is sharp: the storm first forces the ship into the ice, but the opening in the frozen barrier and the returning wind restore movement. The episode thus links the voyage’s cheerful departure to a perilous passage, while its temporary release prepares the way for the Albatross’s arrival in the crew’s story.