Northward Ho! A voyage towards the North Pole 1773

Cook's were not the only voyages of exploration at this time. While he was searching for the Great Southern Continent, the Admiralty sent another Yorkshireman, Captain Constantine Phipps, towards the North Pole. This was to test the belief that the sea itself did not freeze and that ice only formed near to land, with implications for the search of that elusive northern passage to the East.

Captain Phipps with the Racehorse and the Carcass sailed north of Spitsbergen (modern day Svalbard), but were trapped in the ice, only extricating themselves with difficulty. We tell the story of the voyage, not forgetting the surprising encounter of midshipman Horatio Nelson with a polar bear! Original seaman's clothing comes from Gdansk, Poland from the wreck of a Whitby collier - shoes, stockings, mittens and a woolly cap- all 225 years old!

Phipps was a keen supporter of Cook and close friend of Joseph Banks. He entertained the Polynesian Omai at his home near Whitby.

A courageous and unusual officer, the exhibition sheds fresh light on his life and exploration in the 18th century Navy.