McClure Arctic expedition
Today, shipping across the Northwest Passage is a rare occurrence and is not commercially viable due to the unreliability of predicting the state of sea ice in the region.
Faced with a continuing lack of progress, the British Admiralty, on 15 January 1850, ordered a new expedition to "obtain intelligence, and to render assistance to Sir John Franklin and his companions, and not for the purposes of geographical or scientific research," although a completion of the proposed Northwest Passage from the opposite direction would not be without merit.
[4] Preserved meat was secured from Gamble of Cork, Ireland, and although some spoilage was experienced, it had no major impact on the voyage (subsequently discovered to be the case with Franklin).
[6] By 5 March, they had crossed the equator southward and slave ships were observed in the latitude of Rio de Janeiro,[1] described by the expedition surgeon Alexander Armstrong as 'suspicious.'
[7] Continuing north through several storms, nearly 1,000 lb (450 kg) of stored biscuit was ruined by water leakage,[8] but was later offset by fresh supplies from the Sandwich Islands.
On 20 July, McClure had sent a letter (via Herald) notifying the Secretary of the Admiralty of this intent, stating that since Enterprise had already detached from the expedition, proceeding on alone was the best contingency plan available to ensure the success of their mission.
While Enterprise arrived at Point Barrow about two weeks after Investigator, it was unable to pass through the ice and had to turn back, wintering in Hong Kong and wasting a whole season.
As the crew made their way along the coast east of Point Barrow, they left message cairns at each landing site and occasionally traded with local Inuit people.
Periods of good progress were made, until a wind change caused the ice to close in around Investigator on 10 September just as they had discovered a route of some promise, the Prince of Wales Strait.
McClure noted, "The crushing, creaking, and straining are beyond description, and the officer of the watch, when speaking to me, is obliged to put his mouth close to my ear, on account of the deafening noise.
A.M., the remainder of the parting, having, upon the 26th instant, ascertained that the waters we are now in communicate with those of Barrow Strait, the north-eastern limit being in latitude 73°31′, N. longitude 114°39′, W. thus establishing the existence of a NORTH-WEST PASSAGE between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
It was later suggested that, if Investigator had been equipped with a screw propeller, she could have pressed the 45 miles (72 km) to Melville Island, completed the Northwest Passage, and returned home that same year.
Explorations of the nearby coast were made, revealing abandoned Inuit camps and the unusual discovery of petrified wood from an extensive forest at 74°27′N.
Hunting parties were generally successful, although their exploration frustratingly revealed extents of open water that would have provided escape, only eight miles (13 km) outside of Mercy Bay.
[24] On 11 April, McClure led seven men out by sledge with 28 days of provisions to reach Melville Island across the ice, and hopefully to make contact with other British explorers in the area.
June found the crews preparing for their expected liberation from the ice of Mercy Bay, and although temperatures rose, it was cooler than the previous year.
"[26] On 8 September, McClure announced his plan for springtime escape, in which 26 of the crew would make for Cape Spencer (550 miles away), where Austin had left a cache and a boat, and from there, to seek rescue on Baffin Bay.
A smaller party of 8 men would proceed back along the shore of Banks Land, to the cache and boat set by McClure in 1851, then making for the Hudson's Bay Company's post on the Mackenzie River for rescue.
The assessment fell short of the requirements, "utterly unfit to undergo the rigour of another winter in this climate,"[31] making the abandonment of Investigator inevitable, ordered by Captain Kellett of Resolute.
On 3 June, final flags were raised and the remaining crew abandoned Investigator, travelling by sledge to Resolute, with 18 days of provisions and McClure leading the way on foot.
In October 1853, a group of sick crew members were evacuated from Resolute and North Star and returned to England, bringing the first news of Investigator and the Northwest Passage to the public.
A report on the condition of Investigator, now abandoned some 12 months, was also obtained and indicated that she was tattered, leaking but otherwise intact and held by the ice – Mercy Bay was still solid.
Despite this overall success, several points of controversy were raised: In July 2010, Parks Canada archeologists looking for HMS Investigator found it fifteen minutes after they started a sonar scan of Banks Island, Mercy Bay, Northwest Territories.
[34] Parks Canada archeologists scheduled dives on the Investigator site for 15 days beginning on 10 July 2011 to gather detailed photographic documentation of the wreck.
[35] Led by Marc-Andre Bernier, the team of six divers were the first to visit the wreck, which lies partially buried in silt just 150 metres (490 ft) off the north shore of Banks Island.
On 29 October 2009, a special service of thanksgiving was held in the chapel at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, to accompany the rededication of the national monument to Sir John Franklin there.
This gala event, directed by the Rev Jeremy Frost and polar historian Dr Huw Lewis-Jones, celebrated the contributions made by the United Kingdom in the charting of the Canadian North and honoured the loss of life in the pursuit of geographical discovery.
The Navy was represented by Admiral Nick Wilkinson, prayers were led by the Bishop of Woolwich and among the readings were eloquent tributes from Duncan Wilson, chief executive of the Greenwich Foundation and H.E.
[38][39] At a private drinks reception in the Painted Hall which followed this Arctic service, Chief Marine Archaeologist for Parks Canada Robert Grenier spoke of his ongoing search for the missing expedition ships.
The following day a group of polar authors went to London's Kensal Green Cemetery to pay their respects to the Arctic explorers buried there.
