Day 2 Following the trail of Franklin.

Day 2 Tues Aug 26

 

Our wee cabin, with one bunk beneath the window.

Beechey Island today!  I have been fascinated by the Franklin story for years, and this is now the only stop we'll have connected to that ill-fated voyage.  Here he overwintered in 1845-46, and buried 3 men who died during that first winter.  Here too many of the 40 expeditions who came in search of his lost ships landed and left supplies, messages, and artifacts.  Lady Franklin sent three private search expeditions, and a very large ostentatious memorial to her lost husband which was placed on the shore here (just in case he returned?)

We pile into the zodiacs and head to shore, hop off into the shallows, and hike up to the four graves.  The weathered wooden markers look old enough to be original but are in fact replacements.  The real ones were taken to a museum in Yellowknife to preserve them. The flat stones over the graves look undisturbed, but we know the Franklin men were exhumed 10 years ago and the graves carefully rebuilt.  Our resident historian, Katie Murray, talks about the three earliest graves and then the fourth which holds a very unfortunate sailor indeed.  Thomas Morgan sailed into the western arctic with McClure in search of Franklin, overwintered twice, dragged a sled across Melville Island with his crew, was rescued by McClintock on the Investigator and then frozen in again.  McClintock planned to send the weakest half of his crew off to 'find help' while the remainder tried to sail the ship home, but they were rescued by a hunting party in the nick of time.  The poor men again set off on foot and were finally picked up by a whaling ship in Lancaster Sound.  Those who survived this ordeal reached home with McClure who claimed to be the first man to cross the NW Passage, albeit half on foot and in 3 different ships.  Sadly, Thomas Morgan had had enough and died in the arctic, probably of exhaustion.



The graves on Beechey Island.  The last one on left is Morgan's.

As we leave the little bay enclosed by Beechey Island we pass the promontory that so many ships have passed in the quest for the NW Passage.  Lady Franklin's memorial stands tall but listing a bit to starboard, several cairns and markers surround it, and the remains of Northumberland House lie crumbled below it.  Old photographs show a large wooden storehouse on this site, with a tall ship's mast placed on the point.  It was built in the 1850s and filled with supplies on the assumption that Franklin might need help.  Perhaps other explorers have plundered the supplies, and certainly Inuit would have made good use of the lumber, but Franklin never returned.

Our plans are dependent on a rendezvous with our sister ship, Akademik Vavilov, who are contracted right now to assist the largest search for Erebus and Terror ever mounted.  A joint project of Parks Canada, the Canadian Geographic Society, the Canadian Coast Guard, and the Canadian Navy, several corporate sponsors have signed on, including our tour company One Ocean Expeditions, the Arctic Research Institute, and Shell Canada.  The ice has prevented most of the ships involved from reaching Victoria Strait though, and the Vavilov has picked up our rerouted supplies and some passengers in Resolute today.  We will look for polar bears on the ice nearby while we await the Vavilov late tonight.

And bears there are!  In the distance a mom and 2 cubs are sighted in the middle of a large pan of sea ice.  They come into clear view as we motor slowly ahead.  I have never seen a polar bear in the wild, and this is a special treat.  There is no guarantee that your dreams will come true, especially here in the arctic.  These bears amble away and we take a prudent course around the ice edge.  We spot a large solitary bear sleeping and head towards him.  Suddenly movement in the water reveals a second equally large bear who climbs out on the ice with fluid ease and gives himself a shake.  Will sleeping bear awaken?  Will swimming bear attack?  Are they friends or family?  We watch in awe as they both rise to sniff, approach, and then turn in unison to search the horizon for seals.  They spend an hour together, not intimate, but apparently not hostile, and then head off for new attractions.  We will never know their story.



Swimming bear meets sleeping bear just ahead.

As we cruise the ice we spot a massive walrus, and later another.  These solitary beasts are elusive and we are lucky to have such encounters.  The weather, sea and light have all been perfect for wildlife viewing.  We have high hopes for a fine voyage.  We fall exhausted into bed and sleep like happy bears.



Watching for wildlife as we nudge into the ice.



Bears on the ice.