Ice Floe
The original Arctic crossing chosen by the Wordie Expedition was notoriously dangerous. On this route, often "ships were crushed and lost; and Melville Bay has obtained a reputation on that account of unusual danger and difficulty" (Wordie 1935, 20). On their attempt to reach Melville Bay to the north, the expedition met impenetrable ice on 25th July, preventing them from going any further. After several attempts to find open water, the Expedition was forced to give up Melville Bay and cross to the Baffin Island coast instead.
After a frustrated effort to penetrate Melville Bay, the Expedition crossed icy Baffin Bay between 5th and 10th August, and landed on Broughton Island, Baffin Land on 11th August.
P.69582.PAT (MAA). Heimen cutting through ice. Baffin Bay, Baffin Island, Canada.
Source: T.T. Paterson, Photographer: M. H. W. Ritchie.
