Ghost Ship
For a long time the only way to sail from the Atlantic to the Pacific was to the south, around the tip of South America. (A) So queens, captains and merchants dreamed of finding a shortcut through the northern part of Canada. (B)
The first ship to make the voyage through the Northwest Passage was the Octavius. (C) Here’s why:
In 1762 the Octavius and her crew got iced in off the northern coast of Alaska. They were stuck. (D) The ship was spotted off the coast of Greenland by a whaling boat.
How could the Octavius have sailed for 13 summers and 13 freezing winters, from the Pacific to the Atlantic?
No one knows. (E) They had frozen or starved that first winter in 1762, and the ship had drifted for 13 years on its own — with a crew of the dead.
1. They called this dream route the Northwest Passage.
2. The ship was named after the Roman Emperor.
3. What we do know is that the entire crew was dead.
4. It was a strange journey.
5. No one heard from them or saw them until 1775.
6. That’s a long trip — especially if you live in New York and want to sail to San Francisco.