The barge has three shipping containers, each with a specific purpose.
#EREBUS SHIP DRIVER#
The waves were a bit choppier but our driver expertly positioned the Zodiac so we could embark safely. Qiniqtiryuaq means “searching for something or someone which was lost” in Inuktitut, and the barge acts as a floating research station directly above the wreck. I think I was just as excited as they were when they found the wreck!Īs sad as I was to leave the David Thompson, I was excited to be speeding toward the Research Barge Qiniqtiryuaq. Can you imagine? I was just above the actual HMS Erebus. It was a tight space, but I got to see the scanning workstation and images of the wreck of the HMS Erebus below. Both had been on the project for years and recalled the excitement of seeing an image finally form of the wreck. I then went upstairs to the bridge and met the captain and the scanning engineer. Would this sixth attempt be successful? Although I tried to keep myself under control, I was bursting with anticipation. I heard that over the past few years Adventure Canada made five unsuccessful attempts to reach the wreck of the HMS Erebus. Only one thing is for certain on an expedition-there will be deviations from the planned itinerary, and this is what makes expedition travel so exciting.
#EREBUS SHIP FULL#
Travelling with Adventure Canada is as its name implies: an adventure, an activity full of unknowns. It turned out to be great preparation, as not only would I get to sail in the wake of these intrepid explorers, but there was even a chance that I could visit the site of the HMS Erebus wreck. Prior to the trip, Adventure Canada recommended that I read Ken McGoogan’s Dead Reckoning: The Untold Story of the Northwest Passage. In both cases, oral histories passed down by local Inuit were instrumental in the Parks Canada expeditions that pinpointed the locations of the wrecks.įor me, one of the big appeals for the Out of the Northwest Passage adventure was a chance to see this history firsthand. The HMS Terror was located in September 2016, north of the Erebus. What of the ships? The HMS Erebus wreck, rediscovered in September 2014, sits at the bottom of the sea near the hamlet of Uqsuqtuuq (Gjoa Haven), Nunavut. John Rae had evidence that some men had turned to cannibalism, although the British refused to believe it at the time. It is likely that the men perished because of scurvy, lead poisoning, starvation, and extreme weather. In 1848, the crew abandoned the ships and attempted crossing the tundra by sledge. Piecing together the clues from various sources-notes, artefacts found on land, three bodies buried on Beechey island, accounts from Inuit in the region-we now know that Franklin’s ships became bound by ice in 1846 near King William Island. Explorer John Rae was the first to discover significant artefacts from Franklin’s expedition and to learn about the crew’s fate from the Inuit who lived in the area. Search expeditions were largely unsuccessful. Perhaps the most famous of all is that of Sir John Franklin, who set sail in 1845 with two very well-provisioned ships. The stories of the quest for a passage are riveting. It wasn’t until the early 1900’s that someone made the complete passage Roald Amundson, in his ship Gjøa, navigated successfully using a route that took him through Rae Strait. Through my own reading and research, and by hearing from experts I travelled alongside with Adventure Canada, I have learned much about what is currently understood about the history of this region, particularly its infamous shipwrecks.įor centuries, explorers searched for a shipping route from Europe through the Arctic waters to Asia. I have long been interested in the compelling history of the Northwest Passage.
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