J.P. Ault: A Scientist at Sea, Voyages: Antarctic Circumnavigation

On December 6, 1915 the Carnegie left Lyttelton, New Zealand on its most strenuous voyage - a cruise through what Capt. Ault described as the "cold, stormy, and iceberg-infested regions of the Southern Ocean." Stopping at bleak South Georgia Island for fresh water and provisions, the Carnegie crew recorded views of the whaling stations there, just two months after Sir Ernest Shackleton departed the island on his ill-fated Endurance expedition. It would be the Carnegie crew's only human contact in four months. In spite of encountering gale-force winds on 52 days, Ault noted with pride that magnetic observations were obtained on every day save one, when "the sun was visible for only three seconds during the entire day." Returning to Lyttelton on April 1, 1916 the Carnegie completed the first circumnavigation of Antarctica by any vessel in a single season.

	Voyages: Antarctic Circumnavigation Home J.P. Ault Voyages Finding Aid Chronology
Click on a picture to see a larger photo. Antarctic cruise documents: Letters Antarctic map Ault's voyages: Antarctica Canada Easter Island Galilee Last cruise Shipboard Life Cruises map Read more: Ocean Magnetic Survey Expeditions	On December 6, 1915 the Carnegie left Lyttelton, New Zealand on its most strenuous voyage - a cruise through what Capt. Ault described as the "cold, stormy, and iceberg-infested regions of the Southern Ocean." Stopping at bleak South Georgia Island for fresh water and provisions, the Carnegie crew recorded views of the whaling stations there, just two months after Sir Ernest Shackleton departed the island on his ill-fated Endurance expedition. It would be the Carnegie crew's only human contact in four months. In spite of encountering gale-force winds on 52 days, Ault noted with pride that magnetic observations were obtained on every day save one, when "the sun was visible for only three seconds during the entire day." Returning to Lyttelton on April 1, 1916 the Carnegie completed the first circumnavigation of Antarctica by any vessel in a single season.

	Bow of the Carnegie in heavy seas.	Flensers at work on South Georgia Island, 1916.	Close-up of whale's head, South Georgia Island, 1916.

	Waves breaking over bow of the Carnegie.	Crew of the Carnegie during its circum-Antarctic voyage, 1915-1916.	Whale bones piled on the beach at whaling station, South Georgia Island, 1916.

	Panoramic shot of the South Georgia Island whaling station, 1916.	View of the South Georgia Island whaling station, 1916.	Scientific staff of the Carnegie on the bridge, Port Lyttleton, New Zealand, ca. 1915.

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Copyright (C) 2004 by the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington. All rights reserved. Exhibit was mounted on 07/19/2004.