Posts Tagged ‘Franklin expedition’
Why did I write this ‘big Franklin book?’
Early afternoon in Gjoa Haven, everyone gravitates to Qiqirtaq High School, a big modern building, for a cultural presentation. September 2017. I’m sailing in the Northwest Passage with Adventure Canada as a resource historian, giving talks as we travel. I’ve been rambling around Gjoa looking for Louie Kamookak, my old friend and fellow traveler. As…
Read MoreParks Canada en route to the fate of Franklin
Wonderful to see that CBC Yellowknife is all over the search for the long-lost Franklin expedition. First, thanks to producer Peter Sheldon, they did a radio interview asking me about items salvaged from Erebus last summer. That spawned a TV interview on Northbeat, and then a news story in print, widely distributed through Canadian Press.…
Read MoreArctic adventurers recreate trek to Rae Strait
The Arctic Return Expedition is all systems go. A reconfigured four-man team will set out March 25, 2019 to recreate the most successful Arctic overland expedition of the 19th century. On his 1854 surveying adventure, accompanied by an Inuk and an Ojibway, Orcadian explorer John Rae discovered both the terrible fate of the lost Franklin…
Read MoreMYSTERY SOLVED!!! Polar Bears explain Fate Of the Franklin Expedition
Polar Bears Explain the Fate of the Franklin Expedition What happened to the Franklin Expedition? Researchers have been debating that since 1847, two years after Sir John Franklin disappeared into the Arctic with 128 men. From the note later found at Victory Point on King William Island, most people believe that in April 1848, 105…
Read MoreJohn Rae Festival turns up a Franklin sailor and a tribute in stained glass
Arctic aficionados should check out this excellent bit of work from the Orkney News about the John Rae Festival. Most are aware that a gorgeous reclining memorial statue to explorer John Rae is one of the highlights of any visit to St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall. Here we see it with the witty and perceptive Fran…
Read MoreThe Terror? Hailing the hell-bent original
My review of the original novel turned up in the Globe and Mail a decade ago. In response to popular demand, voila, here it is again . . . The Terror: A Novel, by Dan Simmons Reviewed by Ken McGoogan The most impressive achievement of this brilliant historical novel is that the author manages to…
Read MoreBeechey Island whiteout inspires Dead Reckoning video
Scenes from September, voyaging Out of the Northwest Passage with Adventure Canada. Day 8: Beechey Island For visiting Beechey Island, the best-known historical site in the Arctic, the day was perfect: cool and overcast. We went ashore in zodiacs and climbed the rocky, snow-swept slope to the graves of the first three sailors to die…
Read MoreParks Canada expects to find human remains on Franklin ships
Voyaging Out of the Northwest Passage last September with Adventure Canada. Day 3: Simpson Strait “I expect to find human remains.” So said Marc-Andre Bernier this morning in response to a question about diving on the Erebus. “Most likely bones, skeletons.” He noted that Inuit testimony speaks of at least one body on what would…
Read MoreDead Reckoning inspires first-ever book launch at Beechey Island
First came the book launch at Beechey Island. We were sailing through the Northwest Passage with Adventure Canada when, thanks to a myriad of volunteers, the party just erupted. OK, we didn’t party ON the island, site of the graves of the first three men to die on the 1845 Franklin expedition. That would have…
Read MoreHunter-historian Kamookak joins voyage to Franklin’s first-found ship
Can’t wait to travel again with Louie Kamookak! He’s the Inuk historian who pointed the way to Erebus, the first-found ship of John Franklin. Louie will revisit that site in September while sailing Out of the Northwest Passage with Adventure Canada. You can find out more about this looming adventure by going here. I’m excited because…
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