A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!
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| Track of the Racehorse and Carcass with position plots for June 29, June 30, July 5, July 10, July 23, and July 29. |
"23d. At midnight, tacked for the body of the ice. Latitude observed 80°13'38" Rainy in the morning; fair in the afternoon: still working up to the Northward and Eastward, with the wind Easterly. At six in the evening, the Cloven Cliff bearing South about six leagues, sounded in 200 fathom, muddy ground; the lead appeared to have sunk one third of its length in the mud. At two in the morning, with little wind, and a swell from the South West, I stood to the Northward amongst the loose ice: at half past two the main body of the ice a cable's length off, and the loose ice so close that we wore ship, not having room or way enough to tack; struck very hard against the ice in getting the ship round, and got upon one piece, which lifted her in the water for near a minute, before her weight broke it. The ships had been so well strengthened, that they received no damage for these strokes; and I could with the more confidence push through the loose ice, to try for openings. Hacluyt's Head Land bore S 50° W distant about seven leagues."
Meteorological Data:
7/23 Weather on Expedition: 36°F at noon, winds from the E, rain.
7/23 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 94°F with a heat index of 106°F at noon, 8 mph winds from the W, sunny.
"24th. By this situation of the ice we were disappointed of getting directly to the Northward, without any prospect after so many fruitless attempts of being able to succeed to the Westward; nor indeed, could I with an Easterly wind and heavy swell attempt it, as the wind from that quarter would not only pack the loose ice close to the Westward, but by setting the sea on it, make it as improper to be approached as a rocky lee shore. To the Eastward on the contrary it would make smooth water, and detach all the loose ice from the edges; perhaps break a stream open, and give us a fair trial to the Northward; at all events, with an Easterly wind we could run out again, if we did not find it practicable to proceed. Finding the ice so fast to the Northward and Westward, it became a desirable object to ascertain how far it was possible to get to the Eastward, and by that means pursue the voyage to the Northward. These considerations determined me to ply to the Eastward, and make another push to get through where I had been three times repulsed. In working to the Eastward, we kept as near the body of ice as possible. At noon the Cloven Cliff bore SWbS about seven leagues. At six we were working to the NE, and at nine we steered to the SE, the ice appearing more open that way: we had fresh gales and cloudy weather. The ship struck very hard in endeavouring to force through the loose ice. At midnight the wind freshened, and we double reefed the topsails. It was probably owing to the fresh gales this day, as well as to the summer being more advanced, that we were enable to get farther than in any of our former attempts this way. We continued coasting the ice, and at two in the morning the north part of Vogel Sang and Hacluyt's Head Land in one bore S 65° W; Cloven Cliff S 52° W; the nearest part of the shore about three leagues off. When I left the deck, at four in the morning, we were very near the spot where the ships had been fast in the ice on the 7th in the evening, but rather farther to the Eastward; we had passed over the same shoal water we had met with that day, and we were now in twenty fathom, rocky ground; still amongst loose ice, but not so close as we had hitherto found it."
Meteorological Data:
7/24 Weather on Expedition: 39°F at noon, winds from the E, cloudy.
7/24 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 88°F with a heat index of 95°F at noon, 8mph winds from the WSW, partly cloudy.
"25th. At seven in the morning we had deepened our water to fifty-five fathom, and were still amongst the loose ice. At noon we had deepened our water to seventy fathom, with muddy bottom, at the distance of about three miles from the nearest land. By two in the afternoon we had passed Deer Field, which we had so often before attempted without success; and finding the sea open to the NE, had the most flattering prospect of getting to the Northward. From this part, all the way to the Eastward, the coast wears a different face; the mountains, though high, are neither so steep or sharp-pointed, nor of so black a colour as to the Westward. It was probably owing to this remarkable difference in the appearance of the shore, that the old navigators gave to places hereabouts the names of Red Beach, Red Hill, and Red Cliff. One of them, speaking of this part, has described the whole country in a few words: "Here (says he) I saw a more natural earth and clay than any that I have seen in all the country, but nothing growing thereupon more than in other places." At two in the afternoon we had little wind, and were in sight of Moffen Island, which is very low and flat.
The Carcass being becalmed very near the island in the evening, Captain Lutwidge took that opportunity of obtaining the following exact account of its extent, which he communicated to me.
"At 10 PM, the body of Moffen Island bearing EbS distant two miles; sounded thirteen fathoms; rocky ground, with light brown mud, and broken shells. Sent the master on shore, who found the island to be nearly of a round form, about two miles in diameter, with a lake or large pond of water i the middle, all frozen over, except thirty or forty yards around the edge of it, which was water, with loose pieces of broken ice, and so shallow they walked through it, and went over upon the firm solid ice. The ground between the sea and the pond is from half a cable's length to a quarter of a mile broad, and the whole island covered with gravel and small stones, without the least verdure or vegetation of any kind. They saw only one piece of drift wood (about three fathom long, with a root on it, and as thick as the Carcass's mizen mast) which had been thrown up over the high part of the land, and lay upon the declivity towards the pond. They saw three bears, and a number of wild ducks, geese, and other sea fowls, with birds nests all over the island. There was an inscription over the grave of a Dutchman, who was buried there in July 1771. It was low water at eleven o'clock when the boat landed, and the tide appeared to flow eight or nine feet; at that time we found a current carrying the Ship to the NW from the island, which before carried us to the SE (at the rate of a mile an hour) towards it. On the West side is a fine white sandy bottom, from two fathoms, at a ship's length from the beach, to five fathoms, at half a mile's distance off."
The soundings all about this island, and to the Eastward, seem to partake of the nature of the coast. To the Westward the rocks were high, and the shores bold and steep to; here the land shelved more, and the soundings were shoal, from thirty to ten fathom. It appears extraordinary that none of the old navigators, who are so accurate and minute in their descriptions of the coast, have taken any notice of this island, so remarkable and different from everything they had seen on the Western coast; unless we should suppose that it did not then exist, and that the streams from the great ocean up the West side of Spitsbergen, and through the Waygat's Straits, meeting here, have raised this bank, and occasioned the quantity of ice that generally blocks up the coast hereabouts.--At four in the afternoon, hoisted out the boat, and tried the current, which set NEbE, at the rate of three quarters of a mile an hour. At midnight, Moffen Island bore from SEbS to SbW, distant about five miles."
Meteorological Data:
7/25 Weather on Expedition: 39.5°F at noon, winds from NWbN, hazy.
7/25 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 89°F with a heat index of 92°F at noon, 2mph winds from the SSW, mostly cloudy.
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| "Nelson and the Bear" by Richard Westall, 1806. |
Somewhere near this point in the voyage, one of the more popular anecdotes of Horatio Nelson's early life is said to have taken place. Robert Southey tells the story best in his 1813 The Life of Horatio Lord Viscount Nelson:
"One night, during the mid-watch, he stole from the ship with one of his comrades, taking advantage of a rising fog, and set off over the ice in pursuit of a bear. It was not long before they were missed. The fog thickened, and Captain Lutwidge and his officers became exceedingly alarmed for their safety. Between three and four in the morning the weather cleared, and the two adventurers were seen, at a considerable distance from the ship, attacking a huge bear. The signal for them to return was immediately made; Nelson's comrade called upon him to obey it, but in vain; his musket had flashed in the pan; their ammunition was expended; and a chasm in the ice, which divided him from the bear, probably preserved his life. 'Never mind,' he cried; 'do but let me get a blow at this devil with the butt-end of my musket, and we shall have him.' Captain Lutwidge, however, seeing his danger, fired a gun, which had the desired effect of frightening the beast; and the boy then returned, somewhat afraid of the consequences of his trespass. The captain reprimanded him sternly for conduct so unworthy of the office which he filled, and desired to know what motive he could have for hunting a bear. 'Sir,' said he, pouting his lip, as he was wont to do when agitated, 'I wished to kill the bear, that I might carry the skin to my father.'"
A more recent biography of Lord Nelson states that no record exists of Nelson venturing out on his own to shoot a bear; the story first appears in 1809 as part of The Life of Admiral Lord Nelson, KB, from His Lordship's Manuscripts by James Stainer Clarke and John McArthur. The authors attribute the story to Captain Lutwidge of the Carcass himself, so who knows what really happened? It certainly makes for a great seaman's yarn.
"29th. At midnight the latitude by observation was 80°21'. At four, tacked close to the ice, hauled up the foresail and backed the mizen topsail, having too much way amongst the loose ice. At noon, latitude observed was 80°24'56". An opening, which we supposed to be the entrance of Waygat's Straits, bore south; the Northernmost land NEbE; the nearest shore distant about four miles. In the afternoon the officer from the deck came down to tell me, we were very near a small rock even with the water's edge; on going up, I saw it within little more than a ship's length on the lee bow, and put the helm down: before the ship got round, we were cloe to it, and perceived it to be a very small piece of ice, covered with gravel. In the evening, seeing the Northern part of the islands only over the ice, I was anxious to get round it, in hopes of finding an opening under the land. Being near a low flat island opposite the Waygat's Straits, not higher, but much larger than Moffen Island, we had an heavy swell from the Southward, with little wind, and from ten to twenty fathom: having got past this island, approaching to thee high land to the Eastward, we deepened our water very suddenly to 117 fathom. Having little wind, and the weather very clear, two of the officers went with a boat in pursuit of some sea-horses, and afterwards to the low island. At midnight we found by observation the latitude 80°27'3", and the dip 82°2'1/2. At four in the morning I found, by Bouguer's log, that the current set two fathom to the Eastward. At six in the morning the officers returned from the island; in their way back they had fired at, and wounded a sea-horse, which dived immediately, and brought up with it a number of others. They all joined in an attack upon the boat, wrested an oar from one of the men, and were with difficulty prevented from staving or oversetting her; but a boat from the Carcass joining ours, they dispersed. One of that ship's boats had been attacked in the same manner off Moffen Island. When I left the deck at six in the morning, the weather was remarkably clear, and quite calm. To the NE, amongst the islands, I saw much ice, but also much water between the pieces; which gives me hopes that when a breeze sprung up, I should be able to get to the Northward by that way."
Meteorological Data:
7/29 Weather on Expedition: 42°F at noon, winds from the ESE, clear.
7/29 Weather in Williamsburg (Weather Channel App): 74° at noon, 9mph winds from the N, overcast with intermittent rain.
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| An example of the "sea-horses" engaging the men from Racehorse and Carcass. |
The summer is heating up in both locations; literally in Williamsburg with heat indexes well above 100°F for several days before a slightly cooler front rolled through, figuratively on the Phipps Expedition as the crews contend with the ice and rampaging arctic fauna.
Sources:
1. Phipps, Constantine John. A Voyage Towards the North Pole Undertaken at His Majesty's Command. (J. Nourse, 1773.)
2. Southey, Robert. The Life of Horatio Lord Viscount Nelson. (Amazon Digital Service, 2012.)
3. Knight, Roger. The Pursuit of Victory: The Life and Achievement of Horatio Nelson. (Basic Books, 2005.)
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