Category:Isabella (ship, 1813)

Isabella (ship, 1813). aka HMS Isabella. 1818 proved a notable year in the history of the Arctic when the Admiralty hired and fitted out four civilian ships for the purposes of polar exploration, one of which was the 383-ton Hull-built whaler Isabella launched in 1813. Commanded by no lesser personality than Captain (later Admiral Sir) John Ross, Isabella was sent to Baffin Bay to try and find a western outlet through to the Pacific. In the event, no such outlet was found although Ross did make some very beneficial discoveries (to the whaling industry) before returning home, at which time Isabella returned to Hull to resume her normal life. Seriously damaged after striking a submerged rock in the Davis Straits in 1825, she nevertheless survived to bring home 250 tons of oil in 1827, one of the best catches of the year. Her 1832 total of 275 tons was the year's highest and the next year (1833) brought her brief national fame when she rescued her former commander John Ross, who had been marooned and lost – feared dead – in the Arctic for three years. Two years later, on 12th May 1835, the Isabella herself was wrecked off Whale Island, in the Davis Straits, although her crew got off safely.