In 1912, Officer Sedov, having an idea to reach the North Pole and looking for a boat for this endeavor, arrived in Arkhangelsk. At that time, it was thought that those who passed through the ice at relatively low altitudes would enjoy boundless waters up north.
This news was extremely interesting for a hunter-entrepreneur V.E. Dikin. Being strapped for cash, he shortly before bought from brothers Yuriev a battered Norwegian schooner Holy Martyr Phocas built in 1870 and earlier named Geiser. Not before long Dikin took the boat-secured loans from several companies at a time.
At the same time, Georgy Yakovlevich Sedov was on a very tight budget too. Voluntary contributions for his expedition amounted to 42000 rubles including the donation of 10000 rubles by Emperor Nicolas II. Dikin offered Sedov to charter the schooner for 5500 rubles and the explorer agreed.
Due to the time pressure, there was no chance to repair the ship in full and a part of the crew refused to put out to the sea. Limited cargo carrying capacity of the vessel made it impossible to take on sufficient amount of supplies. More than likely that the wily owner of Phocas held his hand to these problems because in case of failure to meet the expedition dates the charterers had to pay him a sizable penalty fee.
When at long last the boat left Arkhangelsk on August 27, 2012 she ran into a severe storm and lost her sails and two boats at that. There was a shortage of warm clothes, provision and fuel on the ship. By the beginning of long overwintering in Novaya Zemlya, the discord among the crewmembers had been at the high.
The summer 1913 came but the icefields did not release the ship from their cold embrace yet. The worst weather registered in the last 20 years, prevailed. On August 21, after 352 days of waiting the ice floes finally opened wide and the ship set a long-awaited northerly course.
The number of crew had fallen to 17 people by then. The coal stock was nearly consumed and anything flammable was thrown into the furnace. The crew was in a riot calling for a return back but Sedov was unbreakable: ‘I will not go back without the Pole, end of story.’ But when the ship approached impassable ice, they stopped in a Hooker Island bay which the crew named Tikhaya (Calm).
On March 2 of the following year, they started their trip on three dog-pulled sledges. The legs of scurvy-affected Sedov were swollen and before long he could move around only with difficulty. A tent was erected and Sedov literally crawled inside. He died on March 5, and his bereaved companions slowly got to their trusty boat.
On the way back two members of the disappeared Brusilov expedition were taken aboard and brought to the Mainland safely. .
After two years of peregrination without Sedov, in August 1914, Holy Martyr Phocas put in Arkhangelsk. Only in two months after the return, the sailors were paid the money owed to them for the voyage, and all that time they stayed on the destroyed vessel, suffered hunger and cold.
The fate of Phocas was unenviable. Prowlers quickly pulled the vessel apart, even the trough was stolen. It was no longer possible to restore the ship.
This tragic story provided the basis for a famous novel Two Captains. The protoplast of courageous Captain Tatarinov was Sedov, and Holy Martyr Phocas became the prototype of Schooner Holy Maria.
This news was extremely interesting for a hunter-entrepreneur V.E. Dikin. Being strapped for cash, he shortly before bought from brothers Yuriev a battered Norwegian schooner Holy Martyr Phocas built in 1870 and earlier named Geiser. Not before long Dikin took the boat-secured loans from several companies at a time.
At the same time, Georgy Yakovlevich Sedov was on a very tight budget too. Voluntary contributions for his expedition amounted to 42000 rubles including the donation of 10000 rubles by Emperor Nicolas II. Dikin offered Sedov to charter the schooner for 5500 rubles and the explorer agreed.
Due to the time pressure, there was no chance to repair the ship in full and a part of the crew refused to put out to the sea. Limited cargo carrying capacity of the vessel made it impossible to take on sufficient amount of supplies. More than likely that the wily owner of Phocas held his hand to these problems because in case of failure to meet the expedition dates the charterers had to pay him a sizable penalty fee.
When at long last the boat left Arkhangelsk on August 27, 2012 she ran into a severe storm and lost her sails and two boats at that. There was a shortage of warm clothes, provision and fuel on the ship. By the beginning of long overwintering in Novaya Zemlya, the discord among the crewmembers had been at the high.
The summer 1913 came but the icefields did not release the ship from their cold embrace yet. The worst weather registered in the last 20 years, prevailed. On August 21, after 352 days of waiting the ice floes finally opened wide and the ship set a long-awaited northerly course.
The number of crew had fallen to 17 people by then. The coal stock was nearly consumed and anything flammable was thrown into the furnace. The crew was in a riot calling for a return back but Sedov was unbreakable: ‘I will not go back without the Pole, end of story.’ But when the ship approached impassable ice, they stopped in a Hooker Island bay which the crew named Tikhaya (Calm).
On March 2 of the following year, they started their trip on three dog-pulled sledges. The legs of scurvy-affected Sedov were swollen and before long he could move around only with difficulty. A tent was erected and Sedov literally crawled inside. He died on March 5, and his bereaved companions slowly got to their trusty boat.
On the way back two members of the disappeared Brusilov expedition were taken aboard and brought to the Mainland safely. .
After two years of peregrination without Sedov, in August 1914, Holy Martyr Phocas put in Arkhangelsk. Only in two months after the return, the sailors were paid the money owed to them for the voyage, and all that time they stayed on the destroyed vessel, suffered hunger and cold.
The fate of Phocas was unenviable. Prowlers quickly pulled the vessel apart, even the trough was stolen. It was no longer possible to restore the ship.
This tragic story provided the basis for a famous novel Two Captains. The protoplast of courageous Captain Tatarinov was Sedov, and Holy Martyr Phocas became the prototype of Schooner Holy Maria.
