Local Scientist Helped
Find the Long-Lost Franklin Ship
(written
by Mark McNeil of the Hamilton Spectator September 12, 2014)
For
nearly 170 years, the fate of Sir John Franklin's lost ships was a
blank space of mystery in history books that told nightmarish stories
of stranded sailors freezing and starving to death on a doomed
mission to find the Northwest Passage. Scores
of archeologists and adventurers came up empty tryinig to find
Franklin's Erebus and Terror. But that all ended this week after a
Burlington hydrographer (someone who maps bodies of water) decided to
take a trip to a remote island in the southern Queen Maud Gulf...away
from the main search area inNunavut.
“The
breakthrough seemed to come serendipitously,” said Scott Youngblut,
37, who works for the Canadian Hydrographic Service. He was part of
Parks Canada-led effort to find the ships and has been up north since
early August. In a satellite-relayed interview from the CCGS Sir
Wilfree Laurier, Scott said he asked a couple of archeologists from
Nunavut to join him in a helicopter run to the island where he was
going to set up equipment. Queen Maud Gulf lies between the mainland
and the southeastern corner of Victoria Island. As luck would have
it, the helicopter pilot (Andrew Sterling) noticed a significant
artifact (an iron fitting)...it was later confirmed that is was
likely from one of the ships.
“Therefore,
we changed the search area to be more closely aligned to where that
find was made,” said Youngblat. “And, sure enough, shortly
after, the Parks Canada archeological team's side-scan sonar was able
to find the wreck.” The discovery was formally announced by Prime
MinisterStephen Harper.
Youngblat's
role in the Arctic has been to lead a team of 5 others from the
hydrographic service, also working at the Canadian Centre for Inland
Waters (Burlington)...all of whom live locally. Their job has been
to help ships involved in the search with navigation and to expand
hydrographical knowledge of the area. “Only 10% of the Arctic is
charted to modern standards and that is a real challenge,” said
Youngblat. “Our primary mission up here is to expand on the
existing corridors that link communities, to
make up what is referred to as the Northwest Passage.” Although a
father of three young children, he has been making annual four-six
week trips to the Arctic for several years. He is thrilled with the
discovery, “It is amazing to be part of this...to witness it...to
be an active participant. With 'the window closing with the
weather' he expects to spend another week or two up north before
returning home to celebrate their wedding anniversary with his wife
and family. She's wondering about the Franklin ship...which could be
either the Terror or the Erebus.
Franklin Ship
Discovered in Arctic Confirmed as HMS Erebus
(announced
by Canadian Press...October 2014)
The
historic shipwreck found in the Arctic has been identified as HMS
Erebus, the vessel on which John Franklin himself sailed ~ in search
of the Northwest Passage. The discovery of the wreck, found some 11
metres below the surface in the Queen Maud Gulf, was confirmed. The
two ships of the Franklin expedition and their crews, 129 members in
all, disappeared during an 1845 quest for the Northwest Passage. So
far, the location of the other ship, HMS Terror, remains a mystery.
Terrible
Tragedy to Franklin and Cozier...
so
expectant of 'exploration success'!
Terrrible
Tragedy to Britain for the loss of 129 men and 2 ships
and
the country's aspiration for discovery.
Franklin Ship's Bell
Recovered by Arctic Divers ~ Nov. 7, 2014
Seven
dives made to HMS Erebus before weather conditions drove them away.
It
wasn't supposed to be a recovery dive. Two Parks Canada divers were
meant only to survey the wreck. Any recovery operations would come
later after assessing the wreck's site. One of the divers noticed a
small bronze object on the deck and Marc-Andre Bernier exclaimed, “I
found the bell.”
Two
bronze cannons, numerous pieces of the ship's rigging, even old rope
have been spotted in the debris surrounding the wreck. Those
artifacts will have to wait for subsequent dives next summer when the
Arctic ice recedes. Every ship that sails has a bell...staying with
that ship for the entire career until lost in action or until the
ship is decomissioned.
The
final resting place of the HMS Terror remains to be found.
The
remains of the ships are designated a National
Historical Site of Canada.
The
exact location is withheld to preserve the wreck and prevent looting.
Implications of
Tragedies
Consider:
We have astronauts exploring 'outer space' ~ not all have been
successful...lives were lost.
Consider:
Remember New York City when unexpected circumstances
occurred...thousands were killed when terrorists crashed the Twin
Towers...the World Trade Centre demolished...now rebuilt.
Consider:
Boston's Marathon of 2013 killingly disrupted by terrorists.
Consider:
Policemen shot in 'the line of duty' and firemen who daily risk
their lives.
Consider:
Hurricane Sandy's devastation and destruction along America's east
coast October 2012.
Yet, the deciduous trees in autumn lose thier colourful dress,
their branches suffering from lack of leaves and birds without their
treetop nests.
After a harsh winter, the trees know (within their veins)
they will be refreshed when spring arrives!
When obstacles give us unimaginable setbacks, it's often years before
we see 'any good' from disasters.
Consider
the words of John D. Rockefeller
(American businsessman born 1839):
I
do not think there is any other quality so essential to success of
any kind as the quality of perseverance.
It overcomes almost everything...even nature. He further states: I
always try to turn every disaster into an opportunity.
It is my hope that readers of the foregoing history
have been as intrigued as I have been..
Merle Baird-Kerr...rewritten January 17, 2016
Postscript:
Lost
at Sea, published July 2015 from Raleigh, North Carolina
Scientists
using underwater vehicles and sonar have found a shipwreck off the
coast of North Carolina that may date back to the American Revolution
of the late 1700's. The expedition led by Duke University marine
scientist, Cindy VanDover, found the previously unknown wreck in
mile-deep waters
on
July 12 using an underwater robut and a manned submarine. They found
artifacts including an iron chain, glass bottles, an unglazed pottery
jug and navigational instruments including a metal compass. Archeologists
say the wreck appears to date back as far as the 18th
century...a rare find!
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