John Ross, who on his voyage in 1818 had claimed Lancaster Sound was enclosed by mountains, was eager to restore his reputation. His plan was to investigate further into Prince Regent Inlet, where Parry had been forced to retreat after the wrecking of the Fury. He thought that smaller, shallower ships fitted with an auxiliary steam engine to help push through the ice would have more success than the increasingly large vessels that had been sent to the Arctic.

Bearing in mind Ross’s previous failure and their own unsuccessful trials with steam engines the Admiralty had no interest in funding any voyage under Ross’s command. Instead funding was found in the form of Felix Booth, a gin magnate. Along with his nephew (James Clarke Ross who was a veteran of five previous journeys to the Arctic) John Ross set sail in reinforced steamer, the Victory, in May 1829. They voyage would turn into a four-year ordeal.

John and James Clarke Ross's expedition, 1829-33 - click to enlarge In August they reached the point where Ross had turned back 11 years earlier. This time the voyage pushed on and headed south into Prince Regent Inlet. At Somerset Island they found the wreck of the Fury left by Parry in 1825 and took on board some abandoned provisions before continuing south. By September they had penetrated 250 miles further south into the Inlet than any previous expedition. The Victory wintered for the first time at Felix Harbour. It would never escape the ice.

Magnetic north pole

Ross and the crew of the Victory spent an incredible four winters in the Arctic. As each spring and summer came valiant attempts were made to break free, resulting in nothing more than soul-destroying voyages of 3 or 4 miles before being frozen in again. Ross later wrote they made ‘less than a tortoise progress’. During this time Ross’s crew conducted several overland expeditions, clarifying the geography of the Boothia Penisula and King William Island. The most notable trip found the then-location of the north magnetic pole (it is estimated the pole moves 40 km per year in a roughly north-west direction).

Abandoning ship and rescue

When it became clear that the Victory would remain stuck in the ice for the winter of 1831-32 Ross made the decision to abandon the ship the following spring. The crew headed north on foot to Fury Beach (a journey of 300 miles) where some further supplies left over from Parry’s voyage were still to be found. Here they set about repairing the Fury’s boats (having had to abandon their own on the journey due to their excessive weight) with the intention of rowing to Baffin Bay and the whaling fleets there the following year.

Their first attempt was blocked by ice in Lancaster Sound and they were forced to return to their encampment at Fury Beach, spending an unprecedented fourth winter in the Arctic. The following August a second attempt was made and in a twist of fate the enfeebled crew were rescued by the ship Ross had used on his 1818 voyage, the whaler Isabella.

A hero's welcome

Ross returned to a hero’s welcome – having demonstrated, like Franklin, the will to survive in extraordinary circumstances. Ross was knighted, society hostesses competed to invite him to their events and among the approximately 4000 letters of congratulation he received were many love letters. Parliament even reimbursed Felix Booth his investment in the voyage.

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All North-West Passage expeditions