Auxiliary Steamship Isabel (1850)
Encyclopedia
The Isabel was a vessel intended to be used in four planned expeditions in search of the fate of the missing Franklin Expedition between 1852 and 1856, although she only managed to reach the Arctic once, in 1852. All of these expeditions were sponsored by Lady Franklin who also owned the vessel over most of this period, and expended much money for little result.
The Isabel was a nearly-new sailing vessel when purchased by Donald Beatson in 1851 for a proposed expedition to the Arctic via the Bering Straits. Lady Franklin became one of the major sponsors, but lack of funds forced Beatson to withdraw from the project in April 1852.
Lady Franklin herself became the ship's owner and, it being too late to reach the Bering Straits in time for the following summer, arranged for the vessel to make a brief sortie to the coast of Greenland
under Edward Inglefield, RN, later that year.
Public subscriptions, including over £1671 from Van Diemens Land received early in 1853, allowed Lady Franklin to send the Isabel for the Bering Straits under William Kennedy
, who had been commander of her previous expedition using the ketch Prince Albert in 1851-52. The sailing master was Robert Grate, who had been a crewman on the first Prince Albert expedition in 1850, and sailing master on the second. However, Grate and most of the crew mutinied at Valparaiso
in August 1853, on the grounds that they believed the vessel was too small and unsuitable for the mission. After two years trading on the South American coast in the hope of finding another crew for the Bering Straits, Kennedy returned the ship to England in 1855.
After preparations were begun late in 1856 to send the Isabel back to the Arctic via Baffin Bay
, Lady Franklin was finally convinced that the ship was unsuitable. After unsuccessful efforts were made to acquire HMS Resolute, the Isabel was sold and replaced by the auxiliary steamship Fox
.
Isabel later became the tender to the Arctic whaler
Emma of Hull. Her engine was later removed, and she was still in service as a sailing vessel, owned by G. Sinclair of Aberdeen
, in the 1880s.
The Isabel was a nearly-new sailing vessel when purchased by Donald Beatson in 1851 for a proposed expedition to the Arctic via the Bering Straits. Lady Franklin became one of the major sponsors, but lack of funds forced Beatson to withdraw from the project in April 1852.
Lady Franklin herself became the ship's owner and, it being too late to reach the Bering Straits in time for the following summer, arranged for the vessel to make a brief sortie to the coast of Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
under Edward Inglefield, RN, later that year.
Public subscriptions, including over £1671 from Van Diemens Land received early in 1853, allowed Lady Franklin to send the Isabel for the Bering Straits under William Kennedy
William Kennedy (explorer)
William Kennedy was born at Cumberland House, Saskatchewan, a son of the Hudson's Bay Company Chief Factor there, Alexander Kennedy and his Cree wife, Aggathas. At thirteen, he was sent to his father’s birthplace in the Orkney Islands for his education...
, who had been commander of her previous expedition using the ketch Prince Albert in 1851-52. The sailing master was Robert Grate, who had been a crewman on the first Prince Albert expedition in 1850, and sailing master on the second. However, Grate and most of the crew mutinied at Valparaiso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
in August 1853, on the grounds that they believed the vessel was too small and unsuitable for the mission. After two years trading on the South American coast in the hope of finding another crew for the Bering Straits, Kennedy returned the ship to England in 1855.
After preparations were begun late in 1856 to send the Isabel back to the Arctic via Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay , located between Baffin Island and the southwest coast of Greenland, is a marginal sea of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is connected to the Atlantic via Davis Strait and the Labrador Sea...
, Lady Franklin was finally convinced that the ship was unsuitable. After unsuccessful efforts were made to acquire HMS Resolute, the Isabel was sold and replaced by the auxiliary steamship Fox
Fox (ship)
The steam yacht Fox was the vessel commanded by Francis Leopold McClintock on an expedition of the Arctic in northern Canada searching for the fate of the missing expedition of Sir John Franklin in 1857-1859.-Construction and Early History:...
.
Isabel later became the tender to the Arctic whaler
Whaler
A whaler is a specialized ship, designed for whaling, the catching and/or processing of whales. The former included the whale catcher, a steam or diesel-driven vessel with a harpoon gun mounted at its bows. The latter included such vessels as the sail or steam-driven whaleship of the 16th to early...
Emma of Hull. Her engine was later removed, and she was still in service as a sailing vessel, owned by G. Sinclair of Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, in the 1880s.