We were heading into the area where one of Franklin’s two ships was found in 2014 and where an active search was underway in the hopes of finding the second ship. So far, no results had been reported and the summer window for underwater surveys would soon be ending. Finding the HMS Erebus two years ago was a huge news story in Canada, with the initial announcement coming from the Prime Minister’s office.
Sunrise, James Ross Strait
As the rising sun painted the morning clouds with gold and pink, we moved through James Ross Strait with King William Island on our starboard side. We then entered Rae Strait (see map below) which is named after Dr. John Rae, one of the great Arctic explorers of the 19th Century. During a trek in 1854 searching for Franklin, Rae traveled north along the coast of Boothia Peninsula and discovered that King William Land was actually an island with a strait separating it from the North American mainland. That fact made it a key piece of the Northwest Passage. Fifty years later, Roald Amundsen would use Rae’s discovery by taking a route through the strait—now known as Rae Strait—and becoming the first to navigate the entire passage.
Lord Franklin’s Fatal Expedition
King William Island also was the key to the mystery of Lord Franklin’s fate. During that 1854 search, Rae turned up a number of artifacts from the ships and stories from the Inuit told of white men trekking south, starving, and dying. His reports back to Britain included this rather delicate phrasing:
“…from the mutilated state of many of the bodies, and the contents of the kettles, it is evident that our wretched countrymen had been driven to the last dread alternative as a means of sustaining life.”
The report horrified England’s Victorian society and especially Lady Franklin who refused to believe the reports of cannibalism. The full story of Rae and his exploits can be found in Kevin McGoogan’s book, “Fatal Passage.”
We stopped for an afternoon at Gjoa Haven, a small settlement on the southern tip of King William Island. It is also a historic location in the saga of the Northwest Passage. Roald Amundsen overwintered here during his successful first-ever transit of the Northwest Passage. He was hemmed in by ice for 22 months but finally completed the voyage 3 years after his start in 1903.
The Bell of HMS Erebus, Submerged to Prevent Oxidation (photo from Parks Canada)
The village has an excellent museum that now hosts the ship’s bell from the Erebus which was found in September 2014, 30 feet below the surface. And that evening, in fact, we would pass even closer to the Erebus (red arrow on map above) after departing Gjoa Haven. We wondered how the search for Franklin’s other ship, the Terror, was going at its undisclosed location nearby.
The next day the ship’s captain altered our route to find a pack of sea ice that reportedly had pieces large enough to hold small groups of people who might want to walk on it. The irony was escapable: Just over one hundred years ago, Amundsen was stuck here for 22 consecutive months because the sea ice was so thick. On the same route today, it was necessary to go out of your way to find some.
Coming Upon a Field of Sea Ice
As we first approached the icee zone, an impressive cloud formation was building overhead. But two hours later we were enveloped by a heavy fog. Nevertheless, the landing was still on and we eagerly boarded the zodiac. Surprisingly, the ice was not at all slippery. The rough surface provided sufficient traction to walk about without any difficulty. The thick fog added a mystical quality to the surroundings.
View of the Ship from Platform of Sea Ice
Zodiac Maneuvers through the Fog
Sea Ice Sculpture
Just five days later, the research team looking for the HMS Terror anounced that it had been found in a King William Island bay which, amazingly, is already named Terror Bay! We had been no more than 10-15 miles away from that spot as we headed west from Gjoa Haven. (An interesting historical footnote. Among its various exploits, the HMS Terror had been with the British fleet in 1814 that bombarded Fort McHenry in Baltimore, an event that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the lyrics for the “Star Spangled Banner.”)
Fascinating.
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Thanks, Sherry. I’m glad you are enjoying this story.
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Robin, another great episode with wonderful photos of the mesmerizing sea ice and altostratus stratiformis. Thank you. How lucky we were to travel on this route almost at the same time as the sunken MS Terror was uncovered.
Karen
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Ah! correction!
It should be, I think, altocumulus stratiformis.
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Karen, that’s great. Thanks for the info. I’ll be able to amaze my colleagues when they ask the question, what kind of clouds are those? And if they don’t ask, I’ll announce a pop quiz! As I’m sure you recall, that kind of cloud formation showed up several times during the voyage and made for some excelelnt photo ops.
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Thanks, Karen! Yes, that was quite a coincidence and very cool to have been so close to the moment.
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Hi Robin you know I’m interested in clouds. I had complied a little album of the clouds we encountered during the trip and had sent the link to you on Oct 17.. Please check. 😊
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Hi, Karen, I found them! Thanks very much. Two great collections!
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What an incredible experience! That sea ice looks magnificent and quite magical with that blue glow in your photographs of it. Your comparison between the ice conditions of the past and present is compelling. I wonder what other signs of global warming and environmental damage you encountered on your trip.
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Hi, Laura, thanks for the comments. Actually, we encountered quite a few in addition to the radical change in sea ice patterns. The retreat of the glaciers, especially in Greenland is rapidly accelerating, and many no longer reach the sea. They have not only retreated but deflated and therefore are no longer as tall (thick) as they used to be. Probably the most dramatic visual evidence of this is shown in the documentary “Chasing Ice” by James Balog. The permafrost is also becoming unstable with fairly serious impacts on buildings in the small communities and plant life. There are a number of other forces at play and I’ll try to mention these in the upcoming episodes.
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Thanks Robin for another interesting instalment and history lesson. Love the images of the sea ice too!
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Thanks, Chris. One other strange thing about the sea ice was seeing the algae growing on it below the water’s surface, apparently something associated with multi-year ice. The botanist on our zodiac pointed it out as we eased up alongside one of the bigger pieces.
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Wade was saying that apparently the fresh water from the ice makes the waters in Antarctica somewhat less salty and it promotes growth of algae.
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That makes sense, I was reading today that the CCAMLR is meeting right now in Hobart to discuss krill fishing arrangements (among many other issues). As I understand it, krill feed on these algae and, in turn, the krill are a critical link in the food chain for many species of marine wildlife. So if sea ice becomes scarce I assume it stands to reason it could have some cascading implications.
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Amazing journey and gorgeous pictures. The ghost ship picture is the best for me.
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Thanks very much, Alexander. The ship did seem like a ghost now that you point that out. It was also a little disconcerting when we were moving about in the Zodiac and the ship would completely disappear. But the Zodiac drivers seemed to know where they were.
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Apparently, it is experience and intuition. 🙂
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It is still hard to fathom the first attempts at the passage. The final fate of so many explorers. The sea ice is stunning and the fog gives it such a mysterious appearance. I would not want to live in any of those communities! Too cold for too long for me!
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Thanks! And in addition to those insane temperatures it goes dark for months. It takes a special adaptability to handle those conditions.
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Thank you so much for sharing your stories and photos from your amazing adventure through the Northwest Passage. I was thrilled to see your photos at your gallery showing a few weeks ago. Your series of photos are stunning!
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Thanks, Patti, It was great to see you again and I appreciate your visiting during the show.
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What an extraordinary thing, walking on the ice floes, Robin. Global warming certainly seems to be having an impact on that part of the world, doesn’t it?
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Thanks for the comments and yes, that is very true. According to NASA, NOAA and other scientific sources, the Arctic is warming about twice as fast as the rest of the planet.
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Your images are stunning, and as I may have said before, I appreciate the history as well. The climate change over the last 100 years is frightening
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Thanks very much for your comments. I agree, and the changes are especially dramatic in the Arctic region.
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WOW … excellent images Robin! Sounds like an awesome place and trip. Some of the scenes remind me of Iceland.
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Woops … meant this comment for (10).
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Beautiful! The information on this wonderful place is appreciated. I love your first image … you should print it big and frame it!
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I realized that I know very little about the history of that entire region. Thanks for filling in some of the gaps! Love your ice photos.
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