The Royal Research Ship 'Discovery'. Part 5.

Life after the Antarctic Expedition

The Discovery arrived and berthed in the East India Dock, London from Portsmouth on the 15th of September 1904 and the National Antarctic Expedition as it had been named, was brought to a conclusion at the Royal Albert Hall, London, on the 7th of November of the same year. Captain Robert Falcon Scott, who then had become known as Scott of the Antarctic, delivered a lecture on his expedition's experiences. He became the cult figure of the day but would never sail on the Discovery again.

The reason for this is sadly simple. The Joint Committee of the British Antarctic Expedition had no money, and, in 1905, on the 17th of January of that year to be precise, Discovery was sold to the Hudson Bay Company for a sum far below what she was considered to be worth. Now, today, that company is the oldest corporation in Canada, having been founded in the year 1670. In 1905 it was, more or less, confined to outlets in Hudson Bay on the East Coast of Canada where ships could not visit during the long winter months because that Bay was iced in. No great icebreakers then to keep the navigation channels open for as long as was possible!!

It may be that because of her design to cope with Antarctic ice, Discovery was seen as a valuable acquisition at the time. Indeed, she was soon converted to a cargo vessel and began a series of return voyages from London across the Atlantic Ocean to Hudson Bay.

Discovery's routes to and from the Hudson Bay area 1905 - 1911

Her outward bound cargo would have been varied and apart from the usual foodstuffs, she would have carried a quantity of gunpowder and ammunition. On the return voyage, furs would have made up the bulk of her cargo. What is certain is that she again endured ice-infested waters, only this time it was at the other end of the globe. To give the reader some idea of how long these voyages lasted, in 1905 Captained by one Alexander Grey, she left London on the 15th of June arriving in Hudson Bay on the 27th of August where she discharged and loaded again, then  departed for London on the 8th of September before the Bay iced up, arriving at her destination on the 3rd of November 1905. So it was only possible to complete one voyage per year. One cannot imagine the hardships that the officers and crew experienced during the five months of the voyage. The North Atlantic is a dangerous enough ocean and it was made doubly so by the presence of ice. Think about waking up in the morning to find yourself surrounded by enormous ice-bergs, each looming high above the main-mast head. Awe inspiring? Frightening? Intimidating? Or just another day at the office, as I'm sure it turned out to be for those brave sailors.

The two photographs above show Discovery as a cargo ship. The upper one is from a painting by Thomas G Purvis, and now with the Hudson Bay Company, while the other shows her barque rigged; both are dated 1911.

The Discovery served the Hudson Bay Company for 18 years of her life with some interruptions. In 1912 she was replaced by a new steamship specially constructed for Arctic navigation and laid up in London. Next year, 1913, a British Antarctic Oceanographic Expedition was planned for 1914-15 and a deposit was paid to the Hudson Bay Company for the use of the Discovery on that expedition. However, the purchase was never completed and she remained in the ownership of the Hudson Bay Company.

Then, of course, in 1914 the First World War began and, in 1915, Discovery became one of about 300 ships managed by the Hudson Bay Company on behalf of the French Government. These ships were used to transport war materials, food and manufactured goods for the French Army, and later, for civilian needs. After having been laid up in London for four years she would have been in no fit state to put to sea. She had to be refitted and, in wartime, cost takes a back seat, so she underwent an extensive re-fit, including all her rigging. After this work had been completed in London, she left Falmouth in ballast for New York on the 25th of April 1915.

Since the next five years or so is another particularly interesting time in the Old Girl's life it is best I lump it together in the next part of this true story of the RRS 'Discovery'.