LARSEN, Henry A.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

"Conquest of the North West Passage: The Arctic Voyages of the St. Roch, 1940-44." First journal publication of this account discussing the first successful eastwards traversing of the north-west passage and the 86-day return voyage, during which the St. Roch became the first vessel to traverse the passage in less than a year. The ship remains "the most famous Canadian vessel in Arctic exploration" (Delgado, p. ix).Under the command of the experienced Arctic seaman Henry Asbjörn Larsen (1899-1964), the 80-ton schooner set sail from Vancouver on 23 June 1940. Just over two years later, in October 1942, the ship reached Halifax Harbour, bettering Admundsen's 1903-6 east-to-west transit by 11 months. The return journey, undertaken to maintain Canada's Arctic sovereignty, was completed in autumn 1944.

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