The Fram: Profile of a Famous Polar Exploration Vessel
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384 / ARCTICPROFILES The Fram: Profile of a Famous Polar Exploration Vessel On a site survey flight in late July 1978, our helicopter in the right place would drift with the ice over, or at least flew over a small protected cove opening out into Rice Strait close to, the North Pole. facing Pim Island on the east coast of Johan Peninsula, His plan for building a ship strong enough to withstand Ellesmere Island. It was easy to see why Otto Sverdrup, the massive ice pressures of the polar ice pack in a daring captain and leader of the Second Norwegian Polar Expe- drift across the polar basin was first presented to the Nor- dition, chose to guide the Fram into this small harbour in wegian Geographical Society in February 1890. Perhaps fore- the fall of 1898, away from the crushing pack-ice in Kane shadowing the eventual tension between Amundsenand Scott Basin and in preparation for their first over-wintering in the in their race for the South Pole, Nansen’s expedition plans Canadian High Arctic. In Fram Harbour the ice quickly received harsh criticism from several members of the British formed a land-fast connection with Fram, which settledcom- Admiralty, notably from two impressive figures in arctic fortably into its role as winter quarters for the far-ranging exploration, Sir Leopold M’Clintock and Sir George Nares. expedition members. The role was a familiar one; she was Nares declared the idea both impractical and foolhardy. This designed and constructed for this very purpose. view was shared by M’Clintock, who had experienced an In theannals of arctic exploration the fate of men became eight-month, 1200-mile, involuntary “ice drift” in the Fox remarkably intertwined with the ships that served them both during the winter of 1857-58. as a means of transportation and as a home during long, The criticism, however, only served to further encourage dark andvery cold winters. It was not unusual for bothmen Nansen, who couldcount many supporters, including another and ships to perish, a fact that, instead of discouraging other notable arctic explorer, Sir Edward Inglefield. Captain Otto people, more often resulted in new ventures into the Far Sverdrup, who had accompanied Nansen on thecrossing of North. Such was the case with the loss of the Jeanette in the Greenland ice cap in 1888, encouraged Nansen to contact the crushing polar pack north of the New Siberian Islands a boat builder from the small town of Larvik, south of in June 1881, after having been trapped and drifting with Kristiania (Oslo). The Scottish-born Colin Archer, then 58 the ice for about 21 months. years old, had been designingand building boats for 30 years In 1884, Eskimos hunting off the south coast of Greenland and was best known for designingthe lifeboats and pilot boats found a number of relics from the Jeanette on an ice floe, used by the Norwegian government. In 1890, Nansen, then including a provisions note written by its commander, De 29 years old, contacted Archer with his plans for a boat that Long. The drift pattern of Siberian timbers and now the would be “strong as Norwegian granite,” and theFram was startling relics from the Jeanette convinced Fridtjof Nansen born. that aship deliberately set into the gripof the polar ice pack She was massive indeed. The keel, which was 31 metres The Fram being nearly crushed in the polar ice during the First Fram Expedition (1893-96). Photo courtesy of the Fram Committee, Oslo, Norway. @The Arctic Institute of North America ARCTICPROFILES / 385 long and protruded only 7 cm below the hull in order not 79ON, 133OE, less than 500 km from where the Jeanette had to provide a grip for thepressing ice,was constructed of two sunk. By mid-December 1894, at 82O30‘N, the crew could hefty 35 x 35 cm timbers of American elm. She was double- celebrate “farthest north,” and eventually the ship reached ended and quite tub shaped in order to make her “slippery” 85O57’N. Butthis was notjust a striving to reach a in the ice. The bow wasbuilt of three sections of oak timbers, geographical point on the globe; this wasvery much a with a total thickness of 1.25 metres, and was further ice- scientific venture, with the Fram serving as a floating obser- strengthened with iron sheeting covered with iron “rails.” vatory, as she would again on subsequent expeditions. The stem section was double-hulled and nearly as massive, Colin Archer’s design and construction was put to severe being 65 cmthick and ironplated. A special well section was tests on many occasions during the drift.At times, the noise built into the stern so that the rudder could be pulled out from thecrushing ice was so loud that people couldn’t hear of danger in case of ice jamming. each other inside the salon. On 4 and 5 January 1895, in Nansen felt that the stern of a ship was the polar ocean tremendous pressure, with 10-metre-thickice trying to crush voyager’s Achilles’ heel, and he insisted on strength above the vessel, preparations were made to abandon ship - but all else. The ribs were made of 30-year-oldcured Italian oak Archer had done his job well and the Fram gradually rose and were covered with two layers ofoak planking variously out of danger. 7.5 and 10 cm in thickness. An outer “ice skin” made of Realizing that the drift would pass south of the Pole and 15-cm-thick greenhearth-wood provided additional strength becoming very restless with the dreadfully slow progress, and protection. The Italian oak also provided the bedding Nansen decided to leave the ship and strike for thePole. On for theoriginal 220 hp triple expansion steam engine, which 14 March 1895, he and Hjalmar Johansenleft the ship with would consume 23/4 tons of coal in 24 hours while doing three dog sledges, 28 dogs and two kayaks. They managed about 6 knots. to reach 86O14’N, but realized at thatpoint that if they were Overall, the Fram was 39 metres long, with a maximum ever to get home alive they would haveto turnback. Their waterline width (minus ice-hide) of 10.4 metres and a remarkable return journey included a wintering on Franz waterline length of 34.5 metres. When heavily loaded (800 Josef Land and a most fortuitous meeting with the English ton displacement) she would draw only 4.75 metres, leaving explorer Frederick Jackson, who brought them back to a freeboard of 1 metre. The middle decksupports were placed Norway. Meanwhile,the Fram continued her drift with Otto just below waterline in order to gain maximum pressure Sverdrup in charge until, more than 1000 days after being strength, except over the engine, where the deck had to be driven into the polar pack near the New Siberian Islands, raised. She was rigged by Christian Jensen as a three-masted the ice finally released her on 13 August 1896, the same day fore-and-aft schooner, with a total sail area of 600 m2. The that Nansen and Johansen reached Norway. crow’s nest, so essential for ice navigation, was situated 32 The Fram was not to remain in safe quarters at home for metres above the waterline. Initially the quarters consisted long. Soon after their triumphant return to Norway, Otto of a main salon, four single cabins and two four-man cabins. Sverdrup received permission to organize and lead a new The deck planks were 10 cm thick and the floor, walls and scientific polar expedition. The original plan was to navigate roof of the living quarters were well insulated with reindeer the Fram northward through the Kane Basin, Kennedy and hair, feltand linoleum. Electricitycould be generatedthrough Robeson channels,as far north as possible before establishing engine, wind or hand power, and she carried eight life- or winter quarters. From there, field parties would make sledge ship’s boats, including one motor-driven vessel. Fully loaded journeys along the north andnortheast coasts of Greenland. she could carry provisions for 13 men for five to six years. Once again, Axel Heiberg and theRingnes brothers provided The constructionof Fram took approximately 18 months funding to equip the expedition. The Norwegian government at a cost of about 250000 Norwegian kroner. Funding was allocated 20000 Nkr for necessary alterations to the now obtained by Nansen from a variety of sources, including the famous ice ship. Naturally, Colin Archer was contracted to Norwegian government and, surprisingly enough, from the make the changes, including adding a 38 cm false keel, which British Royal Geographical Society. With King Oscar, of would make the Fram more seaworthy in heavy seas, yet Sweden and Norway, as a strong supporter of the project, would be easily separated from the hull in case of ice the quest for private funding was greatly facilitated. Partic- jamming. More cabin and work space was added and the ularly outstanding in their moral and financial contributions freeboard was raised 2 metres. It is remarkable that, following were Nansen’s good friends Axel Heiberg, the Ringnes the three-year ordeal in the polarpack, nothing on the ship brothers and Thomas Fearnly. On 26 October 1892, Nansen’s had to be renewed. wife, Eva, christenedthe Fmm, while thousands of onlookers On St. Hans’ day, 24 June 1898 (the same departure day admired the already well-publicized ship. chosen forthe polar drift voyage),heavily loaded with On 26 June 1893, Colin Archer proudly bid farewell to equipment, supplies, animals and people, the Fram set out Fram and her crew of 13 as they set out on the first epic on what was to be a remarkable four-year voyage of discovery voyage; the Norwegian North Pole Expeditionwas under way.