Arctic team reaches destination

Reaching Thom Bay is a particular mile stone for Dom Mee

A team of British explorers who are retracing the steps of a Victorian pioneer have reached their destination of Thom Bay, deep in Canada's Arctic.

The Royal Navy team led by Dom Mee reached the bay after crossing a maze of frozen lakes and rivers.

They are following the route of Sir John Ross and his nephew Sir James Clark Ross, who went in search of the fabled North-West Passage.

Mr Mee, 33, embarked on the expedition solo last year, but the attempt failed.

Thom Bay

The Exercise Arctic Quest 1832 team, as they are called, began their journey at the beginning of August this year. They will remain in the Thom Bay area of Boothia, Canada, until early September, before returning home.

The location is significant because Sir John Ross's crew became stranded there in 1829, during their unsuccessful search for the North-West Passage - a sea route linking the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

Sir John Ross's crew became stranded during their search for the North-West Passage

After enduring three harsh winters in the Gulf of Boothia, Sir John and his crew abandoned their ice-bound ship, the Victory, in 1832, and headed on foot towards Baffin Bay.

The ice still had not moved by that autumn, so the crew had to spend another winter on the ice, before finally being rescued the following year.

Sir John Ross's expedition was made famous for charting the lands of Boothia - and in 1831 Sir James discovered the position of the North Magnetic Pole.

Dom Mee's team, which actually includes a direct descendant of Sir James Clarke Ross, are the first British explorers to visit this region of Nunavut, Canada, in over 172 years.

Milestone

Reaching Thom Bay is a particular milestone for Mr Mee, because his last mission was abandoned just before he arrived, due to severe ice and trouble with a musk ox.

One of the crew's greatest hopes is to find the remains of their Victorian predecessor's ship, which has never been recovered.

Inuit Mr Alookee has been generous to the explorers

But in the meantime they are enjoying the hospitality of local Inuits.

"Yesterday we were fortunate to run into Mr Alookee and his family," the team wrote in their diary.

"Mr Alookee is a well respected Inuit in Nunavut and has a great aura around him. His awareness of these lands is vast and his wife Elizabeth diligently translates all his imparted knowledge for us.

"Generously, they also gave us one of their freshly caught char (Arctic salmon) - a welcome respite from the dehydrated rations we carry."