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ISABELLA
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Hired sloop
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- 1818 Cdr. John ROSS, 01/1818, North Polar Sea.
In 1816 and 1817 it had been noticed that much larger areas of the Arctic seas were clear of ice, in fact ice breaking away from Greenland had had floated south and surrounded the coast of Iceland, so it seemed an appropriate time for the first Arctic explorations of the nineteenth century.
Two ships were employed in the first, ISABELLA and ALEXANDER, and the expedition was remarkable for the large number of officers who accompanied it. They included Parry, J. C. Ross, Capt. Sabine of the Royal Artillery, (later President of the Royal Society) Hoppner, and others who were later to make a name for themselves in Arctic exploration. Cdr. ROSS's orders were to attempt the north-west passage.
They reached the eastern side of the Davis Strait on 1 June and, when not held up by ice, visited a number of Danish/Eskimo settlements. The results of the expedition were not extensive. They reached Lancaster Sound which to ROSS appeared to be a bay with an extensive mountain range at the back, He named the mountains after Mr Croker, the secretary of the Admiralty but unfortunately for him, PARRY sailed over them a year later. - The second expedition, led by Capt. David BUCHAN, used the DOROTHEA and the TRENT.
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