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Page 18. MAINE COASTAL NEWS March 2011 Nautical Book Reviews DEADLY WINTER


The Life of Sir John Franklin By Martyn Beardsley 272 pages; 2002; $36.95 Naval Institute Press Annapolis, MD


This year’s winter continues to drag on and some think that it will never end. How- ever, if we think it is bad here just think what it is like in the Arctic. There have been a number of men who have made it their mission in life to explore the Arctic and discover its secrets. One such person was Sir John Franklin of the Royal Navy, whose desire to unravel the mysteries of this most inhospi- table place would cost him his life. Franklin was born at Spilsby, Lincolnshire, England on 16 April 1786. This was the beginning of the industrial revolu- tion when life in England would be changed drastically. Young Franklin was not from a well-to-do family, for apparently his grandfa- ther had squandered the family’s money. Franklin was educated at area schools and right from a very early age he wanted to go to sea. It is thought that he first went to sea on board a merchant vessel, but it was a relation- ship with a young Matthew Flinders that


placed him on board H.M.S. POLYPHEMUS as a midshipman. The European world was in turmoil as Napoleon pushed to conquer mainland Europe, but he was also eying En- gland. At the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801 POLYPHEMUS was one of the vessels that attacked the city giving Lord Nelson one of his greatest victories. Following the battle he joined Flinders on board INVESTIGATOR for an expedition to the Pacific. There he ended up on a desert island stranded, but were fortunately rescued. He was also fortu- nate not to have been discovered and impris- oned by the French. Even at this stage of his life he was more interested in exploration rather than fighting. However his next ship was BELLEROPHON, which was part of the Channel Fleet and took part in the Battle of Trafalgar, Nelson’s greatest victory. Later he was on the BEDFORD, with Great Britain expecting to go to war with America Franklin was looking for the best position he could find, but ended up at the Battle of New Or- leans. At the end of hostilities with France, Franklin found himself ashore and home. Fortunately he was assigned to a vessel heading to the Arctic in the hopes of finding the North Pole.


During the 1800s there were numerous expeditions to the Arctic in an attempt to find the Northwest Passage and claim the undis- covered territory. In 1819 Franklin was part of an expedition that went to Canada, pro- ceeded over land north to see what they could discover. This expedition developed problems, which turned into an incredible hardship for all involved.


After three years away, Franklin re- turned to England and was married. Unfortu- nately she became ill and suffered for several years before she succumbed to her disease.


However at the time, Franklin was on another expedition. He would later marry Jane Griffin. There were several other expeditions, but what made Franklin a household name, even here in the United States, was his ill- fated expedition to discover the Northwest Passage in 1845. The vessels of this expedi- tion, EREBUS and TERROR, were sighted several times that year, but then they van- ished. When they did not return that year there was concern. Vessels were fitted out to search for the missing ships and men, but for years their fate eluded discovery. The Inuits told stories of the ill-fated expedition, and some articles were discovered, but it was not until Captain McClintock’s expedition that the riddle was solved.


A very interesting book, about a very interesting man and well worth reading.


most have read “Moby Dick,” by Hermann Melville, which is really the story of the loss of the whale ship ESSEX. As romantic as one tried to make whaling, it was truly far from it. The ships were small, slow, and you could smell them before you could see them. The chase may have been thrilling in a book, but a Nantucket sleighride behind a really infuri- ated mammal weighing hundreds of tons, does not seem like a good idea. What was worse is that most of the crew were paid very little and once in port what money they were paid quickly disappeared in a stupor of liquor and wild women.


FINAL VOYAGE


A Story of Arctic Disaster and One Fateful Whaling Season By Peter Nichols 294 pages; 2009; $26.95 W. P. Putnam’s Sons New York, NY


One of the romantic aspects of maritime history evolves around whaling. Of course


What also became apparent was by the mid-1800s this industry was in its decline. Whales were getting more difficult to find, and then there was the discovery of oil. With the declining number of whales, ships went searching for them and this took them up through the Bering Straits and into the inhos- pitable Arctic. As these whales began disap- pearing, they went further and at times they pushed their luck and lost, as what happened in 1871. A large fleet had pushed further up the coast of Alaska hoping to fill their hold with whale oil and bone. They were con- stantly warned by the Inuits that winter was coming early that year and if they did not leave soon they would be forced to winter in the ice. Well they stayed too long and soon they were all trapped. None of them were prepared to winter there and were forced to man their whaleboats and head south by boat and foot in hopes that other vessels down the coast could take them on board and sail them to safety.


This is an incredible story, but is not really the main topic of this book. The author tells the history surrounding the whaling industry. He describes how Dartmouth/New Bedford was founded, their religion, and the decline of the industry. All very interesting, but I was hoping for more on the actual 1871 disaster. I am not sure how much material is available on the subject, but there must be accounts when these people returned. It is a very interesting book, but for me it fell short of its mark in telling the whole story of the 1871 disaster.


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