
Lost Franklin expedition ship found in the Arctic - trusche
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/lost-franklin-expedition-ship-found-in-the-arctic-1.2760311
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aaron-lebo
There was book in my school library about the Franklin expedition. There was
something haunting and fascinating about the old drawings/paintings of one of
the ships locked in the ice, pictures of the incredibly well-preserved
sailors, and the failed trek across the ice which ended in cannibalism. It is
probably a relatively unknown story (at least in the US - this article
suggests that resonates with Canadians), but there's something that draws you
to it. Actually, the polar expeditions produced a lot of incredible stories.
You've got Shackleton's legendary return to civilization, and what I think is
one of the more heroic and tragic pieces of writing, Robert Falcon Scott's
Message to the Public:

"We took risks, we knew we took them; things have come out against us, and
therefore we have no cause for complaint, but bow to the will of Providence,
determined still to do our best to the last.

...

Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance,
and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every
Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale, but
surely, surely, a great rich country like ours will see that those who are
dependent on us are properly provided for."

It's rather strange that such a desolate environment could produce such
interesting stories.

~~~
eru
Funny enough, Amundsen who prepared much better and actually succeeded doesn't
get nearly the same amount of press that the Scott does. It seems true heroes
fail.

~~~
pessimizer
I think it's because he was hated at the time for taking his investors' money
and going to the South Pole rather than the North (basically Kickstarter
rage), especially when he knew about the British expedition, then announcing
it by sending the British expedition a sniggering telegram. Another reason, is
that Scott and his four died carrying his joke letter back (the both one
rubbing in and proving that Amundsen arrived first.) Lastly, I'd say that it's
influenced by Amundsen taking almost the exact same route as Scott had
previously announced.

At the time, I think he was seen as a heel that pretty effortlessly ended up
as champion. The British with their bizarre obsession with manhauling
definitely saw the usage of dogs as less manly. Also: Amundsen was not
photogenic. More evidence that he was a cartoon villain.

~~~
blaabjerg
> Lastly, I'd say that it's influenced by Amundsen taking almost the exact
> same route as Scott had previously announced.

Did Scott end up changing his route after the announcement? Because I seem to
recall they started several hundred kilometers apart.

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seren
Read _The Terror_ by Dan Simmons. This is a great mix of horror and history
novel, using the expedition as its background.

~~~
mironathetin
Sorry, this is already a book thread. So I post my recommendation here too:

It is a brilliant novel about Franklin and his expedition: The Discovery of
Slowness (Sten Nadolny) It has originally been written in german (Die
Entdeckung der Langsamkeit). Very well investigated. Especially John Franklin
seemed to have been a very interesting character.

Read the amazon reviews: people start to get philosophical, when they write
about this book.

A great weekend read, well worth the time. Maybe I should grab it again,
too...

(deleted my post in the main thread)

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smacktoward
It's too bad this happened on the same day as the Apple news blitz; for a
history nerd like me, this is a MUCH bigger story than the iWatch.

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quinndupont
Unfortunately, Harper isn't really interested in finding a piece of Canada's
history. Rather, he is looking for evidence of early arctic exploration to
justify nationalistic sovereignty claims of the artic, so Canada is well
positioned for northern trade routes and oil exploration once all that nasty
ice melts.

~~~
HNJohnC
I'm no fan of Harper but you are incorrect. He's a huge history buff and has
been interested in this exact expedition since well before he became PM. It
just happens to help with the sovereignty issue.

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dmix
Reminds me of the story of Ernest Shackleton and his crew getting stuck in
Antarctic ice, then remarkably surviving. It was one of the greatest adventure
books I've ever read:

[http://www.amazon.com/Endurance-Shackletons-Incredible-
Alfre...](http://www.amazon.com/Endurance-Shackletons-Incredible-Alfred-
Lansing/dp/078670621X)

It made me want to take one of those $5k guided trips to the artic on an old
Russian ice breaker, sometime in the future.

~~~
mailshanx
Do you know where your can get on a trip for 5K? Last i checked, those trips
would cost around 2x that amount: i would be absolutely delighted if i can
find one for 5K!!!

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markbnj
The thing that startled me most about this story was how good the side scan
sonar technology has gotten.

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NIL8
Why can't they use this type of sea floor scan in other oceans/areas? The
image looks amazing and I can think of a number of uses for it.

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ck2
What's the "cutting edge technology" that made it possible where others would
have gone right by it?

Computer enhanced sonar?

~~~
smacktoward
There's an article that gives more detail on exactly how they found the wreck
here:
[http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/09/09/the_star_with_...](http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/09/09/the_star_with_the_franklin_search_how_the_franklin_wreck_was_finally_found.html)

 _> The underwater archeologists soon put their survey and diving boat,
Investigator, in the water to look for a wreck near the island, using a side-
scan sonar towfish pulled on an armoured cable._

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JULIENB
Lost a plane, found a boat.

