Arco Polar Expeditions: Difference between revisions

[[File:Expedition 1891.png|thumb|Route taken by the initial Arcerion Polar Expedition of 1891. ]]

=== Expedition of 1891 ===

This was the first expedition undertaken by [[Arcerion]] to the Arctic, leaving in February of 1891 from the Songun port of [[Chester-on-Moore]], the voyage not being entirely completed until late 1892. Led by [[Walter Hetherington]], assisted by the soon-to-be-famous John Howland, it was primarily aimed at an initial survey and geographic mapping of the Arctic peninsulas to the East of Northern Crona, jutting out into the [[Albion Sea]]. During this expedition, Hetherington and Howland performed the first full oceanographic and coastal surveys of the Northern Albion Sea. It also discovered two islands [[Elizabeth Island]] and [[Gibson Island]]. Elizabeth Island, named for Hetherington's first daughter, was discovered during the initial entrance into the Northern reaches of the Albion Sea. Gibson Island was named after a member of the expedition who died after succumbing to cold-weather exposure injuries sustained while exploring the island. During the 1891 expedition, four separate landings and explorations were made by John Howland, the two aforementioned islands, as well as a pair of shore trips onto two separate peninsulas. The expeditions themselves were marked by harsh conditions due to the Arctic weather.  

With an initial stop in [[The Cape|Cape Town]], the expedition then set off for the [[Kiravia|Kiravian]] port of Sirana, following this with a resupply stop in the [[New Archduchy|Republic of New Archduchy]]. By this point, the journey had been ongoing for several months, with the final pre-Arctic resupply stop made at the Kiravian colony of Xepramonta.

Arrival approximately three months after they had set out for the journey, the two ships first sighted the Arctic Coast on the 2nd of May, 1891. With average temperatures at night around -10°C, and during the day around 5°C, the ships were frequently coated with ice. Considering the average temperature in Arcerion at its coldest is roughly the same, many of the more experienced mountaineers found this familiar, but the sailors on the Malentine and Songun Seas had not thus experienced temperatures like this so far. The first foray ashore was made by John Howland on the 6th of May, 1891 and conducted initial surveys and took some rock and soil samples. He was accompanied by three members of the ''Emily''<nowiki/>'s crew, one of who would later perish due to exposure injuries sustained later in the expedition.

After the Albion Peninsula expedition, which lasted several days, the ''Chester'' and ''Emily'' both set off to what Hetherington would name Elizabeth Island. On Elizabeth Island, Howland found some signs of human life in the form of rock sculptures and carvings into the rocks on the Northern shore, and the limited cave exploration in the area, and assessed it was from some of the first Indigenous peoples that would have migrated to Crona during the pre-historic era. Upon preparations to leave Elizabeth Island, the ''Emily'' struck an iceberg and required repairs, and the crews remained moored off the North Shore for an extra four days while the sailors repaired the damaged hull enough to permit continuing travel.  

=== Expedition of 1893 ===

Capitalizing on the success of the 1891 expedition, the [[Government of Arcerion|Confederate Parliament]] authorized the raising of a second expedition to take place the following year. Preparations however, were considerably more rushed and this would result in catastrophe. The schooner ''Emily'', still not fully repaired, was not chosen to again participate as one of the ships in the expedition. ''Chester'' was to be accompanied a new schooner, ''Forthright'', as well as one of the Naval Service's new frigates, ''Archer''. The Navy was keen on testing the frigate's ability to operate far beyond the Songun as if this was successful it could use it as precedent for additional ships to be constructed. The ships finished preparations not even a full year after the 1891 expedition's return, departing in the summer of 1893.  

They followed a similar route, making resupply stops at ports of call in the Cape, Kiravian colonies, and the New Archuchy, but instead of focusing on the Northern Albion Sea, the expedition intended to head farther East, closer to [[Kiravia]], as this stretch of coastline had limited survey and geographical assessments done by even the Kiravians. The main miscalculation here was the poor lack of accountability for the weather's impact. Previosuly, the departure with the turn of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere meant that the temperature was more permissive to the explorers upon their arrival in April/May of 1891. For this expedition however, the summer departure as well as farther distance meant that the October/November arrival brought with it considerable storms and seas which the ''Forthright'' struggled in. After a storm in October South of Gibson Island whilst transiting Eastwards, the ''Forthright'' lost a mast, its fall crushing two members to death. The loss in propulsion and confusion during the storm required a stop, not too far from the fourth landing in the 1891 expedition, until the mast could be repaired. The hard seas and this delay mean that the expedition arrived at their survey locations in mid-November. With the daily average temperature around -10°C. Only two landings were conducted, one by Hetherington himself for three days, and a second, longer expedition by Howland for nine days. During this time Howland made use of his previous military experience to lead a dozen men the furthest inland at that point that any non-indigenous person had ever went into the Arctic. Using sleds and snowshoes, they made it 46km inland before reaching a halfway point they determined was sufficient and heading back to the ''Chester''.

By this point on the return, the late November temperatures began coating the ships rigging and superstructures with a considerable amount of ice. A lack of de-icing equipment, as well as many of the new volunteers who were not veterans of the 1891 expedition lacking proper winter clothing meant that problems stemming from the initial rush for another successful expedition began to be seen. Disaster struck during another winter storm off the coast of the Albion Peninsula in the last week of November, 1893. Severe icing on the ''Forthright''<nowiki/>'s rigging had caused her to become overly top heavy. Howland, then leading the land expeditionary contingent on the ''Archer'', as the ''Emily'' was undergoing repairs, watched as the ''Forthright'' took on a serious list to starboard, and took on water. With waves as high as 25 feet, the ship went under shortly after, with no ability to launch lifeboats, life rafts, etc. The heavy sea state and freezing conditions above and below surface meant that the ability to rescue survivors, if any, was limited. This represented the first serious loss of life on an expedition, the ''Forthright'' having 27 souls aboard when she sank.

The return to Arcerion was considerably less enthusiastic as the brave adventurers had lost so many of their own, and the government was incredibly hesitant to now continue funding these expeditions. However the [[Arco Transpolar Investigatory Commission]] was setup by the Foreign Office in conjunction with the Naval Service to investigate the sinking of the ''Forthright'', and found that rushed preparations, poorly trained and equipped crew, and a lack of experienced Arctic sailors had led to the demise of the ''Forthright''. However, from this, the government began to work on codifying the requirements for future expeditions should the appetite arise again, and recommended that much more time and effort be invested into future expeditions in order to minimize unnecessary loss of life. Hetherington, in his memoirs, stated that the loss of the ''Forthright'' was entirely preventable, and only a mad frenzy to foster another successful expedition had led to the deaths of almost thirty men.  

=== Expedition of 1899 ===

[[File:1899 Expedition.png|thumb|Location of John Howland's Camp in the Arctic, c.1899]]

Howland accepted the terms and in the summer of 1897 began a two-year plan to prepare his teams for what they would experience. He recruited his land contingent from not only the mountaineers and alpine experts of Moorden, but he specifically targeted his maritime and naval contingent from a mixture of 1891/93 veteran sailors, augmenting them with whalers from [[Burgundie]] as best he could. Howland felt they brought rough sea experience that was lacking in 1893, that would make the difference for the longer, more difficult expedition of 1899. The maritime contingent specifically focused on sailing in rough seas, going through drills, procedures, and contingencies that would help them excel. In this instance, a twin Arco-Burgoignesc pair would set the conditions for a successful maritime navigation to the Arctic. Douglas Shaw, and Ensign of 28 and descendant of a blockade runner from the [[Cronan Beaver War|Cronan Beaver Wars]], he had made a name for himself in the Navy for his emphasis on what would eventually become known as "blue-water" (open sea) operations. He had taken a small sloop from Chester-on-Moore, and in 1894 sailed to the [[Pelaxia|Pelaxian]] capital of Albalitor in record time, and the first time an Arcer sailor had done this with only a two-masted sloop made for Songun Sea travels exclusively. Shaw would be complemented by Lucien Boissieu, a whaler from Burgundie who had recently travelled to the [[New Archduchy]] to begin whaling in the [[Odoneru Ocean]]. His experience with the type of long-distance, expeditionary sailing, combined with Shaw's emphasis on preparation and robust training combined to create a solid naval complement for the journey.  

Howland tasked both Shaw and Boissieu together to find a ship suitable for the journey. In this instance, they found in the port of Kinnaird the ''Defiance'', a three-masted schooner, that was being refit as a whaler. Upon a petition by the Arcer government, it was purchased for £19,000 Arcer Pounds and sailed to Chester-on-Moore to undergo retrofitting for Polar exploration in 1888. The land contingent procured sleds, cold-weather clothing, and the requisite equipment they would need for an extended stay on the Arctic shores.

In January of 1899, the ''Defiance'' left the port of Chester-on-Moore. With a complement of fifty six, it had nearly half a complement more than it had been designed for, and living conditions were increasingly cramped. However, between Howland, Shaw, and Boissieu, the voyage North was made in record time, and they arrived in the Albion Sea after roughly two and a half months travel, skipping the Cape's port and transiting the [[Songun Straits]] without the need for a resupply stop.  

The search began for an initial place from where to encamp and begin their surveys, studies, and observations in the Arctic. Secondary to this, Howland had begun to prepare for a petition to the Arcer Parliament for a longer expedition that would permit a single team to make the trip to the North Pole. Howland at this time discovered a new island, previously unmapped and what many had thought to be part of the Arctic mainland. [[New Moorden Island]], the Westernmost of the three [[Arctic Albion Islands]], was also the largest, and there was a brief two day expedition led by Howland inland while Shaw and Boissieu undertook necessary repairs and maintenance on the ''Defiance''. On New Moorden, the highest point allowed Howland to gain a good vantage point, and from there using his telescope and survey equipment he was able to identify suitable future spots for expeditions on the island, as well as a small deep-water inlet he believed could serve as the basis for a future Carnish or Arco colony. Returning to the ship's company, they departed late April and arrived at the mainland shore, from where Howland set up their permanent encampment for the next months. The weather by now, in the summer, was far more permissible, but they knew they were in for a long tenure. By day, temperatures remained around 10°C, but at night they dropped just below zero. The warmest day recorded was in the last week of June with a daily high of 19°C. During the day, small expeditions and forays inland were made to try and discover new sights and conduct additional land and coastal surveys. A pair of biologists from the Carnish Anglican University also catalogued at least three species of bird, and several small land mammals, such as hares and marmots. The sailors themselves assisted with the aquatic portion of this, working with the scientists to fish and trap sea life on the shore, which also provided them with activities outside of the maintenance and repair of the ''Defiance'' and their camp routines. Inland, a pair of infantrymen from the Easthampton Borderers sighted the first large land mammal in the Arctic that an Arcerion expedition had seen, the [[Albion Wolf]]. Credited with the first successful hunt of one, LCpl Hamish Bailey, with 'G' Company, 3rd Battalion, the Arcerion Easthampton Borderers was noted to have shot it with a trapdoor rifle at a distance of approximately 320 yards. Its pelt is still on display in the Sergeant's and Warrant Officer's Mess at the Easthampton Garrison.  

By late September, the weather had begun to turn and plans for the journey home began to solidify. Scientists were told that by New Year's Day, the ''Defiance'' would be setting sail to return to Arcerion. With final expeditions and samples taken, the scientific contingent was ready to go by Christmas Day 1899, on which the entire expedition's complement enjoyed salted fish, brandy, and marmot jerky with dried cranberries. Shaw and Boissieu set the departure date for December 29th based off of the limited weather data they had, and the expedition left Howland's Camp that morning.  

[[category:Arcerion]]

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