Oceans & Arctic – Oceanic-Visions

Southampton Island

Frances HennesseyNovember 21, 2014March 17, 2021

[caption id="attachment_5965" align="alignright" width="150"] Wresting secrets from distant, archaic land.[/caption] When scrambling up the rugged shore to rolling heights of Southampton Island, the eye is captured by a desolate world...

Oceans & Arctic Poetry Collections

329. Reaching for Dreams

Frances HennesseyNovember 7, 2014March 17, 2021

[caption id="attachment_5912" align="alignright" width="150"] Inuit traditional clothing, seal and caribou, photo by Ansgar Walk, 1999, Wikimedia.[/caption] Until I read my grandfather’s journals, I did Not understand his dream-visions, accounts Of...

Blogs & Comments Oceans & Arctic

Dr. Isaac Israel Hayes: Logistical Planner, Fund Raiser

Frances HennesseyJuly 1, 2014March 17, 2021

[caption id="attachment_1277" align="alignright" width="150"] Chart in "Arctic Boat Journey" with page 58 shows reference to "Cape Union" and "Open Polar Sea."[/caption] Dr. Hayes in his first book, An Arctic Boat...

Oceans & Arctic

Jacopee’s Journal, Part 2

Frances HennesseyApril 24, 2014March 17, 2021

Haunted by her previous readings, Ahnah studied her grandfather's old photos and sketches. Many were made during his travels across the eastern Arctic from Kuujjuaq to Iqaluit (then Frobisher Bay) and to Pangnirtung. Ahnah now felt disconnected...

Oceans & Arctic

Jacopee’s Journal

Frances HennesseyApril 23, 2014March 17, 2021

Upon her first overflight of Ellesmere Island, Ahnah thought nothing was there but snow and polar bears, a notion both correct and clearly mistaken. She had returned to her childhood...

Oceans & Arctic

Poetic Prose of Isaac I. Hayes: “The Arctic Night”

Frances HennesseyMarch 1, 2014March 17, 2021

Isaac I. Hayes, MD. "The Open Polar Sea," 1st edition, 1867.When first reading The Open Polar Sea, “The Arctic Night” chapter became my “quintessential Hayes” and one of the reasons...

Blogs & Comments Oceans & Arctic

Understanding by Degrees: The Open Polar Sea (Part 3 of 3)

Frances HennesseyDecember 21, 2013March 17, 2021

[caption id="attachment_1376" align="alignright" width="150"] "Chart of Smith Sound Showing Dr. Hayes Track," from "The Open Polar Sea," 1867 1st edition.[/caption] During the 19th century, some scientists and explorers believed (or...

Arctic-Nunavut Historical Poetry Oceans & Arctic Poetry Collections

62. “Panther” Obscured in Fog

Frances HennesseyNovember 27, 2013March 17, 2021

TFog descends just above the ocean on the marine layer.For several Greenlandic summer nights, Hayes on The screw-steamer Panther transited the Arctic Circle. Drifting amongst icebergs, a floating realm of...

Blogs & Comments Oceans & Arctic

Understanding by Degrees: Determining Longitude (Part 2 of 3)

Frances HennesseyNovember 27, 2013March 17, 2021

In the previous post, I outlined the basic concepts for obtaining latitude by sextant sightings at local solar noon, and illustrated how masters and astronomers on 19th century Arctic-exploring ships...

Blogs & Comments Oceans & Arctic

Understanding by Degrees: Determining Latitude (Part 1 of 3)

Frances HennesseyOctober 29, 2013March 17, 2021

[caption id="attachment_1591" align="alignright" width="150"] Diagram of Marine Sextant courtesy of English Wikipedia.[/caption] Arctic explorers in the 19th century routinely used a sextant for celestial navigation to determine their location at...