Here we are at 64.57 North 63.38 West anchored in a small charted, un-named fjord on the north shore of Cumberland Sound five miles west of Cape Mercy. Its the second inlet in and we have been sheltering here since 01.30 hours this morning when we dropped anchor. We do have grey, tall, granite walls on both sides and a sloping mountain side  to the north east where gusts occasionally sweep through at us up to fifty knots of wind, and churn up the seas around us. We are hanging on and glad to be out of the furious gale that is playing out in the Davis straight this very night.

 

A historic note.

Giovanni Carbotti a grocer and merchant trader from Genoa approached Queen Isabella in the 1480’s for two ships and sailors to sail to the westward in search of Cathy. She turned him down and mentioned that a Christopher Columbus had  a similar request and she was sponsoring him. The gregarious Mr Carbotti was able to hold concert with Henry VII and convince them that he could show them where the Portuguese and Basque fishermen were catching their codfish and whales.

Henry and his people responded that they would support his efforts of two ships and sailors if he subsequently would change his name to John Cabot! Cabot would have probably read about the Greek sailor Pytheas who sailed his ship to the north in the third century and named it Thule. In his writings Pytheas wrote of his ship being pinched by some natural occurrence that was caused by the earth, sea  and air!

After Napoleon was imprisoned on St Selena in 1815 the British Admiralty scrambled to find a cause to continue the flow of funds coming in now the Napoleonic wars were over. Cabots quest and road to the Pacific became a high priority and in 1818 the Royal Society in London sent John Ross to explore the possibilities. During the next twenty five years there were many an effort to explore and chart the unknown waters of the icy north. The most famous of all was John Franklins third voyage and as a commander of Terror and Francis Crozier as Commander of Erebus. They wintered over for two winters and still today the two vessels have not been recovered.

On the third of May 1850 four vessels were sent out by the Admiralty to look for Franklin and his crew. The Resolute commanded by Captain Horatio Austin with the Intrepid, Pioneer, and Assistance. They found not a trace of the Franklin ships and sailed back to England. The following year the Resolute returned and she was abandoned in Lancaster Sound when she was trapped in the ice. After a year she broke out of the ice and sailed herself unmanned a thousand miles to the east and was found by James Buddington a whaling captain east of Baffin Island. Captain Buddington sailed her back to New London, Connecticut and sold her to the US government for $40,000. The US government refitted the Resolute and sailed her back to England as a gift in 1855. A few years later Queen Victoria presented the White House with a desk that was built with the timbers from the planking of the Resolute. Today that is the desk that is still in the Oval Office and serves as the official desk of the president.

 

Currently all aboard are in the bunks resting, Captain Dai is up in the wheel house on anchor watch and it looks like Philip will be taking over from him at 24.00 hours an hour from now. Looks like we might be still be here tomorrow before this angry gale moves on. I have all night in my bunk tonight since I was on cooking duties all day, it happens every five days and we all take turns.

Nos Da and good night to you all from all of us aboard the Catryn,

Hywel.