In 1746 a group of United Kingdom investors, led by Arthur Dobbs, commissioned a private Northwest Passage expedition of 1746.
Middleton reported that the large inlet he had been sent to explore, was not an outlet to the Pacific Ocean, and he named it Wager Bay.
[1][3] James Isham, the factor (governor) of York Factory, recorded great acrimony between the two captains.
After the bay was free enough of ice, for exploration, the ships proceeded separately.
[1][3] They confirmed Middleton's conclusion, from the expedition of 1741, that Wager Bay was not a passage to the Pacific Ocean.