The Polar Ship
On Friday, 11 January 1901, Roald Amundsen sits in Tromsø and writes a letter to his brother Leon.
Eight days later, the contract is signed and Roald Amundsen has bought himself a Hardanger jakt (a traditional type of gaff-rigged sloop). Built in 1872, it as old as Amundsen himself.
The boat is called Gjøa, after the wife of its first owner.
Amundsen keeps the name.
In April 1901, Gjøa sets sail for the North Atlantic.
The voyage heads west to the ice edge along Greenland's east coast, and then north-east towards Spitsbergen in Svalbard. The plan is to hunt and to carry out oceanographic surveys for Nansen. It is also an opportunity for Amundsen to get to know the ship and the ice.
Before leaving Tromsø, Amundsen has bought himself a camera.
In 2015, several of the photographs he takes will be found at his home at Svartskog.
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They meet several hunting vessels on the cruise. - 2/7
Work on deck. - 3/7
The cutter "Success" from Tromsø is one of several ships they meet on the way. - 4/7
Hunting in the ice with a small boat. - 5/7
Another hunting vessel photographed from "Gjøa". - 6/7
"Gjøa" at the ice edge. - 7/7
A break ashore amongst the driftwood.
It is July when they reach the island of Danskøya off Spitsbergen.
Several ships are here, including that of a German North Pole expedition led by Oskar Bauendahl, a man Amundsen later will later refer to as
Bauendahl has a great desire to go to the North Pole.
His original plan had involved the use of windmills to drive an aerial tramway — and had failed as soon as he got onto the ice.
Bauendahl and his expedition spend the winter in an old hut on Danskøya. It is summer again when Roald Amundsen comes to visit, and Bauendahl now reveals a new absurd plan for reaching the Pole:
The boat, which is really just a raft, is built from materials they find on Danskøya. Several refer to it as nothing more than "a floating monstrosity with two masts".
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Bauendahl's raft lying among various building materials on Danskøya. Photograph discovered in Roald Amundsen's home in 2015. Photo: Follo museum, MiA
Amundsen has no faith in the project and seeks out Bauendahl one last time for a chat.
On 4 September, after a cruise lasting almost five months, Gjøa is back in Tromsø.
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Map showing the route Gjøa took on its first voyage under Amundsen. Photo: National Library of Norway.
The catch they have with them comprises 1,200 seals, 2 walruses, 2 polar bears and 1 narwhal.
In addition, they have several boxfuls of of scientific observations for Nansen.
Their investigations during the cruise have included recordings of seawater temperature, soundings of sea depth, and the throwing overboard of bottles containing messages that when found and returned will tell Nansen about the ocean currents.
Amundsen also brings home with him experience and knowledge that will prove invaluable.
