The Resolution in a stream of pack-ice

In 1772-73 this ship was the first to cross the Antarctic circle and sail further south than anyone had done beforeResolution was a sturdy Whitby-built collier bark bought by the Admiralty for Captain Cook's second voyage of exploration. The aim was to discover a fertile 'undiscovered Southern Continent' still believed to exist somewhere in the southern oceans. Cook in the Resolution made two great sweeps towards the South Pole, crossing the Antarctic Circle, and nearly came within sight of Antarctica itself. The sketch, by William Hodges, the official draughtsman to the expedition, shows a choppy sea, overcast skies, and ice floating past. There was hardship for the crew: J.R. Forster complained his bedding was always damp from a leaking hatch, and the goat brought down from the deck to the next door cabin bleated piteously all night! But the Resolution came safely home, certain there was no undiscovered land. The picture tells us about the quest for knowledge, exploration in the age of Enlightenment, and about how men and ships from Yorkshire were tested in the most extreme conditions in the southern oceans.

In 1772-73 this ship was the first to cross the Antarctic circle and sail further south than anyone had done before