Beechey Island

Beechey Island holds part of the story of John Franklin and his men, who wintered there during the winter of 1846-1846 whilst attempting  to find a Northwest Passage. *

It is vast. It is stark.  It is cold.  It is hauntingly beautiful.

Three of Franklin’s men are buried here-John Torrington and William Hartnell, who were sailors, and William Braine, a Royal Marine.

At a grave sightly set apart from the others lies Thomas Morgan, who sailed with the McClure expedition of 1850.

Ruins of Franklin’s buildings remain- visible by binocular, and only accessible by zodiac during special tides.

Two message cairns-visited and increased by ships today.

A memorial cairn to Joseph-Rene Bellot,  who searched  for Franklin's expedition.  He was lost when he fell through ice in Wellington Channel in 1853.

We had along two rifle-toting guards on the lookout for polar bears.

My usual quirky photos...

This tickled me.  Someone brought along some extras- camera, glove liners, scarf- in a Crystal Shop's bag.  The high-end slick paper tote with the signature satin ribbon just struck me a so out of place in this world of greys and rock and snow.

The Master Diver and Underwater videographer Natalie went for a little dip....

(brrrrrrrrrr)

SNOW!

Thanks to friend Hayley for the proof I was here!

*A site marker reads

"Sir John Franklin of the Royal Navy and his crew of 129 men entered the waters of Lancaster Sound in search of the Northwest Passage in July 1945.  Although they were never seen again by Europeans, Franklin's party was the largest and best equipped sent by the British Admiralty to the Arctic Archipelago in quest of a navigable northern route to the Far East.  The Admiralty's search for the missing expedition began two years later and continued until 1880.  The expedition's progress has been traced from it's first over-wintering harbour on Beechey Island to Starvation Cove on the mainland where the last survivors perished.

After exploring Wellington channel to 77 North Latitude, the crew passed the first winter at this camp."