SPECIAL FEATURE

ABSTRACT
Fridtjof Nansen was the first person to put forth the idea of Arctic circulation and to truly discover the Arctic Ocean basin. He based his hypothesis on the ill-fated ship JEANNETTE that was crushed by the ice in 1881 near the New Siberian Islands. The JEANNETTE, in trying to find a passage to the North Pole, entered the Bering Strait in 1879, was set in ice, and drifted for two years until she was crushed. Her remains were discovered in 1884 near Julienhaab on the southwest coast of Greenland. Nansen then hypothesized that this wreckage had been carried by a current flowing from the region of the New Siberian Islands, passing near the North Pole, and then descending southward to the North Atlantic along the east coast of Greenland. To verify this, Nansen executed the most remarkable expedition of the FRAM from 1893 to 1896 to study polar currents and the oceanography of the Arctic. He built the FRAM so that when the ice set around her, she would be raised up onto the ice and drift with the ice pack. He did this successfully in this most fascinating voyage of the Arctic. The following account is taken from Nansen’s writings of his expeditions in FARTHEST NORTH, 1898.

JEANNETTE
The JEANNETTE was captained by George Washington DeLong who was seeking a passage to the North Pole. He thought that a warm current derived from the Kurishio flowed through the Bering Strait and would keep a passage open to the Pole. He readied his ship and set sail. As soon as he went through the Bering Strait, he became locked in the ice--much to his surprise. He drifted for 2 years until the ice pressure finally crushed his ship near the New Siberian Islands. The JEANNETTE, or what was left of her, continued to drift. Parts were eventually found off the east coast of Greenland, among other debris that had its origins in Siberia. (Ellsberg, 1944). A Norwegian professor wrote an article saying that if these were relics from the JEANNETTE, then they must have drifted on the ice across the Arctic Ocean. His article was read by a young scientist named Fridtjof Nansen; it started a train of thought that was to consummate with the voyage of the FRAM.

FRIDTJOF NANSEN Fridtjof Nansen was 6 feet tall, blond, athletic, a hunter--one might call him a true Viking. In fact, the 19th century is sometimes referred to as the "Second Viking Age" for Arctic exploration. In school, Nansen studied zoology. He wrote his thesis on "The Structure and Combination of Histological Elements of the Central Nervous System." His professors did not understand it and almost rejected it. It was later considered a breakthrough in Histology. Nansen was an oceanographer, inventor, scientist, explorer, humanitarian, poet, artist, and a bit of a mystic. He had the ability to combine intellectual perception with practical application. He learned well from the experiences of others and used and applied his knowledge in conceiving plans that struck more conventional minds as wild and outrageous. He had a great deal of self-confidence and planned his excursions down to the minutest details. He sought something far more profound from life than fame or scientific data. On his Arctic expedition he sought and found self-knowledge and spiritual replenishment.

His diary revealed his innermost thoughts. He had an active mind. In any situation, he would discuss with himself the positives, the negatives, the worst cases, and the best cases, and would prepare for the worst.

Based on the JEANNETTE and other debris washed ashore in Greenland, Nansen developed his Polar Drift theory. He gathered all of the information he could on Arctic exploration to date and studied every passage tried. Many explorers had tried through Greenland and farther east to find a new passage. DeLong tried the Bering Strait. Spitzbergen seemed to be the best route because the warm current from the south keeps the waters open and ice free. Whalers reported vessels which were set fast in the ice drifted northward.

Explorers tried various methods of travel over the ice; horses, reindeer, and men were all used to pull the sledges. Heavy boats were used to travel over the leads in the ice. Nansen wondered why no one ever studied the natives of the Arctic and how they traveled across the ice. He observed that the Eskimos used light kayaks and dogs.

After assembling this information and reading the article on the JEANNETTE, in which the writer conjectured that the relics must have drifted on a floe right across the Polar Sea, Nansen concluded that was the route he must take.

POLAR DRIFT THEORY
Nansen proposed his drift theory to the Christiania Geographical Society. He also suggested that the pole was mostly water or ice, and not much land. Most scientists at that time believed that land covered the North Pole, and there was open water beyond the ice. Nansen also assumed the depth of the Polar Sea was shallow, ranging between 60 to 80 fathoms. (During his voyage he discovered depths to be between 1600 and 2600 fathoms.)

Nansen considered the forces of nature and set out to work with them and hence work with the current. He reasoned that because the currents flowed around Greenland, the JEANNETTE artifacts had to go in one direction. Trees from Siberia and Eskimo relics were always found in Greenland. He concluded that the currents flowed somewhere between the North Pole and Franz Josep Land.

He calculated the distance from the New Siberian Islands to the east coast of Greenland to be 1360 miles and around the Greenland coast to Julianehaab to be 1540 miles for a total of 2900 miles. This was the distance traversed by the ice floe carrying the debris from the JEANETTE in 1100 days. He calculated the drift to be 2.6 miles per day (24 hours).

At that time the Greenland currents were pretty well known, bringing massive chunks of Arctic ice southward along the coast. Nansen knew it took approximately 400 days to travel around Greenland. Seven hundred days were left to go from New Siberian Islands to the 80th degree of latitude. He predicted that it would take 36 months to cross the polar sea.

He originally proposed to go through the Bering Strait and west to the New Siberian Islands; he finally decided to sail east from Norway through the Kara Sea.

FRAM
Nansen proposed building a small ship (170 tons) which would carry provisions for 5 years for 12 men, with an engine which would give a speed of 6 knts., and rigged for sailing. It was to be built to withstand the pressure of the ice and, therefore, to sit upon the ice. He called his ship the FRAM, which means "Onward," and predicted it would take 3 years to cross the Arctic Ocean. Nansen employed a Scottish shipbuilder named Colin Archer who developed many plans of the proposed ship. One was finally agreed upon: lovely - no; practical - yes.

The shape of the hull was designed so that the pressure of the ice would tend to push it up on the ice and not crush it, as was the fate of the ships of previous expeditions. The sides were rounded, the bottom flat, and the ship one third as broad as she was long. In open seas, it was said: "She sailed with the smooth aplomb of an old barrel, but in ice she performed splendidly." Her hull consisted of 3 layers and was greater than 2 feet thick. Matured oak and greenheart, a West Indian hardwood, were used. The greenheart was used for the ice skin on the outside. The hold looked like a cobweb of balks, stanchions, and braces. The bow and stern were rounded and smooth so the ice had nothing to hold on to. Nansen wanted to make the ship as small as possible. He reasoned that if it were lighter, it could be made stronger in proportion to its weight, and a small ship is better adapted to navigation among the ice floes. It turned out to be 402 tons gross and 307 tons net. It was 113 ft. at the waterline, with a keel of 103 ft. Breadth was 36 ft., and depth 17 ft. The draught of water with light cargo was 12.5 ft., and displacement was 530 tons. With heavy cargo, draught was 15 ft., and displacement 800 tons. Freeboard was 3 to 6 ft. The ship carried coal for 4 months of steaming at full speed. She was rigged as a 3-masted fore and aft schooner, and the engine was 220 hp, giving the ship a speed of 6 -7 knts.

The saloon, or dining room, was in the middle surrounded by the cabins. The walls and ceiling were layered for protection and warmth with felt, panelling, air, reindeer hair stuffing, panelling, linoleum, air, panelling, and 4 in. deck plates. She had a skylight protected with three panes of glass. This was done to prevent a problem typical on Arctic expeditions of moisture condensing on walls and running down into the cabins and bunks and freezing them.

MEN, DOGS, PROVISIONS
In preparation, Nansen knew the two most important things to carry were good clothing and plenty of food. He combined variety with wholesomeness for food. Everything was stored in tight containers to protect against dampness. The food included bread, dried vegetables, meat, chocolate, lime tablets, and a little alcohol for medicinal problems and special occasions. He had enough provisions to last for 5 years. A meal on a special occasion consisted of oxtail soup, pork cutlets, red whortleberry preserves, cauliflower, fricandeau, potatoes, preserved currents, pastry, and iced almond cake. Provisions were also stashed on some of the islands in case Nansen needed them on the way to the ice.

The FRAM carried 16 tons of petroleum to be used for cooking, warming of the cabins, and illumination. She also carried a library, scientific instruments, and eight boats to prepare for any mishap. Nansen procured 30 dogs from Siberia and picked them up at the mouth of the Olenek. He brought a female dog for breeding, and she had several litters on the way.

Finally, he chose his men. The Captain was Otto Sverdrup, his friend who accompanied him on a previous Greenland expedition. He also chose Henrik Blessing, a medical doctor and botanist, and nine other men of various backgrounds. A last person came aboard at 8:30 A.M. to speak to Nansen about going, and they sailed at 10:30. There were 13 men in all.

SET SAIL
He and his crew left Bergen, Norway, the 21st of July, 1893, picking up his dogs on the way. He followed his plan to sail the northern route to the New Siberian Islands, be set in the ice, and go where the ice took them. The worst part of his journey on the FRAM was probably the trip going to the ice. He sailed in uncharted seas encountering dense fog and ice on the way. He had a very difficult time getting through the Kara Sea. At times he and his crew had to put a small boat forward of the FRAM with a lead line to lead the way. They had to make their way around many uncharted islands. Nansen’s greatest fear was being stuck in the ice for a year before he could reach the New Siberian Islands.

They finally passed Cape Chelyuskin and conditions improved. They steamed on across the Laptev Sea and turned north. The ship was set in the ice on September 25, 1893, just north of 78° North latitude, which was where he wanted to be. The ship became a scientific lab and cozy home for him and his companions.

ON THE ICE
Once in the ice, Nansen and his crew prepared for their 3-year journey. The engine was dismantled, oiled, and stored. They raised the screw and rudder and cleared the hold to make room for a joiner’s workshop. The mechanical workshop was in the engine room, and the tinsmith worked in the chart room. The shoemaker, sailmaker, whatever maker, was in the saloon. They could make everything aboard the FRAM, from wooden shoes to delicate scientific instruments. Nansen literally came prepared for everything. A windmill was erected on deck to drive a dynamo which gave sporadic electric lights--very welcome during the long Arctic night

Everybody kept busy aboard the FRAM. They maintained two shifts, six per shift. The doctor was not put on a shift. In fact, he had a notable lack of business and took to caring for the dogs. Each person had his shipboard duties of cooking, cleaning, building, and taking scientific observations. They ate well and were quite cozy in their floating home/laboratory. In fact, most felt guilty because they were so comfortable.

Nansen often wrote in his journal of guilt feelings for the comfort of the 13 men. They did not undergo the same awful experiences of the other polar expeditions. Nansen himself was responsible for this. He was extremely perceptive and could anticipate difficulties--mechanical or emotional--and he simply prepared and provided for them. There was a very close family feeling among the men. There were parades on the ice; holidays were celebrated, and special provisions were provided for those special occasions. There was much comraderie among all of them. However, the expedition became very routine and boring at times; it was a real test of patience.

Nansen was probably the most restless. He wrote in his diary every day, and it served as an outlet for his pent-up energy. I think one could probe the very soul of Nansen by reading his diary. His descriptions and artistic water colors of the Aurora Borealis were particularly impressive.

Oddly enough, the men seemed to prefer the winter more than the summer, probably because the conditions were more constant. The electric lights were an added bonus. The summers of continuous daylight affected them more emotionally. Also, the ice conditions were worse in the summer, with continual thawing and freezing. The ice seemed to move about more.

During their first year in the ice, they drifted quite slowly. They went so slowly that, based on the first year’s drift, it would take them 8 years to go across the pole. When Nansen left home, a little tree was planted, and someone commented on the length of the shadow that the tree would cast when Nansen returned home. He, at times, doubted his calculations and wondered if he would, indeed, see the shadow.

The ice did not always move with the wind, and they drifted backwards almost as much as they went forward. They had a huge celebration every time they crossed a degree of latitude, and spirits definitely picked up each time the drift changed from south to north and northwest.

The ice pressure would come in waves which they calculated to correspond to the tides. The ice, when moving together, apparently makes thunderous noises. The men became used to this, and felt quite confident in the ability of the FRAM to withstand the pressure.

Their second year, the ship drifted fairly steadily to the northwest covering 400 miles toward the Pole. While adrift in this sea of ice, Nansen formulated a plan for himself and one other to leave the ship and walk north, taking provisions for 50 days. He thought it would be a rather easy trip in view of the very nearly flat ice conditions. Nansen maintained a positive attitude about everything he did.

Again, he planned every detail. They built kayaks, loaded them with provisions, and put the kayaks on the sledges. They began with 3 sledges and 27 dogs. He chose one of his crew members, Hjalmar Johansen, a 24-year-old man who went aboard the FRAM as the stoker and assisted with the scientific observations. They planned to leave in the spring of the second year.

Preparations were going well and the ship drifting nicely, when in January, 1985, they experienced the worst pressure yet. The ice rose quite high and nearly over the ship. The pressure was so great, they prepared to abandon the ship. It was described as like a "huge wave advancing on the ship and crashing over the side, except that it happened over several days," but the ice pressure subsided, and they continued on.

TO THE POLE
Nansen calculated that they could travel 9 to 13 miles per day toward the Pole, and he would turn around at some point, depending on progress and provisions, and be in Franz Josep Land and on to Sptizbergen by mid-May to catch a whaling boat home. Nansen and Johansen, after making three attempts to start north, finally left in mid-March. Little things kept breaking, and they would return to the shop to repair them. Of course they had a "Bon Voyage" party each time they left.

The dogs were to pull the bulk of the load. As they weakened, he would kill them and use them for food for the other dogs. He figured that the return trip would be faster because the load would continuously lighten, and the dogs would become fewer. They drove the dogs extremely hard, at times unmercifully. Nansen commented that these expeditions were very sad in that one must systematically kill all better feelings until only hard-hearted egoism remained.

In his writings Nansen was graphic in describing the killing of the Arctic animals. Polar bears, birds, and walruses were killed for meat and self defense. I think his writings were a way to alleviate his feelings of having to kill the animals. Their treatment of the dogs haunted him years afterwards.

Progress was very slow. The ice was rough and seemed to get rougher the farther north they went. It was extremely difficult for man and dog to cross the ridges. By the second week in April, they could make only one or two miles per day. There were many ridges that the dogs could not pull the sledges over, and they had to manually haul everything over themselves. Sometimes they would have to scout a ridge to find a place to cross. They would go for miles and be totally exhausted when they found a place to camp. When they camped, sometimes they would sit in their tent and fall asleep while eating dinner. Nansen would take a position and find that they had only progressed one or two miles. He finally reasoned that the ice was drifting south while they were walking north. It was like taking two steps forward and one backward.

They reached a latitude of 86°13' N (160 miles farther north than anyone prior to this time). At this point, they decided to turn back. Oddly enough, the moment they turned back the ice improved and progress was much better. But the journey back was much longer and harder than anticipated. Their watches had stopped along the way which threw the calculations for their position off by about 6° longitude. Throughout the trip home they longed for land. It was not until July 24, 1895, that land was finally sighted. It did not, however, correspond to any land that had been mapped. They did not reach Spitzbergen or the home bound whaler before winter. In August they built a stone hut on an island and wintered. When spring, 1896 came, they got into their kayaks and began the journey home. They traveled for 3 ½ more months to the south of Franz Josep Land.

On June 13, 1896, Nansen heard dogs barking. He ate his breakfast first and set off looking for the "dog." Then he heard a human voice. Not having had a bath in a very long time, Nansen smelled the scent of soap before he encountered an Englishman named Frederick Jackson who was leading an expedition in the area. Nansen recognized him. Nansen and Johansen were wild, oily, ragged, hairy. The Englishman was "pink-skinned and check-suited." Jackson looked at Nansen and realized whom he saw. Their exchange went something like this:

Jackson, "Aren’t you Nansen?"
Nansen, "Yes, I am."
Jackson. "By Jove, I am glad to see you."

They went back to Norway on the WINDWARD, Jackson’s ship.

Ironically, on the day Nansen and Jackson landed in Vardo, Norway, the FRAM "burst triumphantly" from the ice north of Spitzbergen after 35 months of drifting across the Arctic Ocean. The FRAM arrived in Norway within 3 days of Nansen’s arrival.

EPILOGUE

After WWI, Nansen was a supporter of the League of Nations. He was appointed Commissioner, responsible for the repatriation of prisoners. While the Russians would not recognize the League, they did recognize Nansen. He set up a private organization which repatriated one half million men, and was in charge of famine and relief in Russia, Greece, and Armenia. Fridtjof Nansen was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922.

REFERENCES
Ellsberg, Edward, 1944; HELL ON ICE: THE SAGA OF THE JEANETTE. Dodd, Mead & Co., N.Y., 421 pp.
Nansen, Fridtjof, 1898, FARTHEST NORTH, volumes I and II. Harper & Brothers, Pub., NY and Lond., 1316 pp.

The VOAYAGE OF THE FRAM is published with the kind permission of the Marine Technology Society. © The copyright and any right of use of the VOYAGE OF THE FRAM remains with the Marine Technology Society, USA.

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