Posts Tagged ‘john franklin’
Big Franklin Book wins praise in Winnipeg
Big shoutout to Winnipeg author Dave Williamson, who reviewed Searching for Franklin in today’s Winnipeg Free Press. The headline read: “McGoogan brings Franklin expedition’s cast of characters to life in his latest dispatch.” Williamson went over the top with his flattering first sentence: “Two names are synonymous with exploring the Arctic: John Franklin and Ken…
Read MoreToronto Star searching for Franklin
Images: Edwin Landseer & Sheena Fraser McGoogan From the Toronto Star, August 19, 2023 By Ken McGoogan The Franklin search season is almost upon us. Last year, during eleven days in early September, Parks Canada underwater archaeologists retrieved 275 artifacts from HMS Erebus. That ship was one of the two recently located wrecks from the…
Read MoreWhy 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.…
Read MoreView from Alaska highlights indigenous contribution to Arctic discovery
DAVID JAMES (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner) Feb. 25, 2018 FAIRBANKS — For Arctic history enthusiasts, there’s never been a more exciting time. The recent findings of the two lost vessels of the Franklin Expedition, last seen sailing from Greenland in 1845 in search of the Northwest Passage, made global news. Meanwhile, historians have been producing an…
Read MoreVoyage to the Erebus meets Arctic reality
Snorkeling was back on the agenda. Last September, when we boarded the Ocean Endeavour to sail west Out of the Northwest Passage with Adventure Canada, we expected to don wetsuits and go snorkeling over the wreck of John Franklin’s Erebus. The Arctic had other ideas. Click on this link to see the article I wrote…
Read MoreArctic Return Expedition will seek Northwest Passage in the footsteps of John Rae
“A snow storm of great violence raged during the whole of [April] 14th, which did not prevent us from making an attempt to get forward; after persevering two and a half hours, and gaining a mile and a half distance, we were again forced to take shelter.” — John Rae on his 1854 expedition In…
Read MorePolar Bears explain the Fate of Franklin
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 found at Victory Point on King William Island, we know that in April 1848, 105 men left the two ice-locked ships. The note tells us that…
Read MoreSay goodbye to defenders of the Royal Navy narrative of the Northwest Passage
A few days ago, in the comments section below the Globe and Mail review of Dead Reckoning, I placed a link to my rejoinder. The review’s author, Janice Cavell, has responded in that same forum. She says nothing about my two main criticisms, and so apparently concedes — first, that her review short-shrifted the Inuit,…
Read MoreOur Hero sacrifices modesty to preserve insightful review in Cyberspace
Dead Reckoning offers lively account of Inuit contributions to discovery of Northwest Passage Review by Charlie Smith (Georgia Strait, Oct. 22, 2017) Charles Dickens is deservedly seen as the greatest novelist in Victorian England. The author of such masterpieces as David Copperfield and Great Expectations was also an influential social activist, campaigning for various reforms,…
Read MoreHere’s why we’re excited to visit the site of Franklin’s found Erebus
Parks Canada divers will resume exploring Erebus a few days from now, around the time we reach the site with Adventure Canada. That’s the word on the street. Thanks to Parks Canada, we will have a live feed that will enable us to witness discoveries as they happen. Why is this exciting? Well, I offer…
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