His first objective was Jan Mayen, but he was prevented from examining that interesting island by the fact that it was, as usual, enveloped in a thick mist. He next turned his attention to the east coast of Greenland, which, of course, still offers a splendid field to the adventurous explorer, but here again he was foiled, for the coast was so encumbered by ice that it was impossible for him to approach it. He then shaped his course for Spitzbergen, but falling in with the two famous whalers, David and John Gray, he learnt that the ice was equally bad in that direction. Accordingly, he determined to try his luck in the Barents Sea, and to discover once and for all whether there was a practicable sea-route to Franz Josef Land. Payer and Weyprecht had, of course, found their way thither in 1871, but as we have seen, they had been drifted there with the ice; a Dutchman named De Bruyne had actually sighted its high land in 1879, but he had not succeeded in reaching it; while, in the same year, Captain Markham, in his little yacht the _Isbjörn_, had pushed as far north as lat. 78° 24´, and had come to the conclusion that a steamer ought to be able to make its way through the loose ice with which the sea was cumbered without very much difficulty. There was, therefore, every reason for Leigh Smith to hope that he would be able to reach those shores which had never been visited since they were first discovered. Though the sea was covered with ice and dense fogs were of frequent occurrence, he succeeded in bringing the _Eira_ through in safety, and on August 14 she was lying at anchor off May Island, which is situated just to the south of Hooker Island. Continuing her journey, she steamed past Barents Hook, round the southern shore of Northbrook Island, and up to Bell Island, between which and Mabel Island an excellent anchorage was found and named Eira Harbour. Making that his base, Leigh Smith surveyed the coast-line in all directions, adding about 110 miles to the maps, and forming an interesting collection of the flora and fauna of the country. Towards the end of August the weather became threatening, so he determined to bid farewell to Franz Josef Land for that year, as he was not prepared to spend a winter there. With a view to convincing doubters that the voyage to Franz Josef Land would be practicable in any year, he set out on his second voyage thither in the following summer. The _Eira_ was more hampered by ice than had been the case before, but on July 23 land was sighted, and Leigh Smith set his course for Cape Ludlow. After exploring much of the coast-line which he had been unable to reach during his previous visit, he made for Bell Island, off which he anchored on August 6.