Octavius (ship)
Encyclopedia
The Octavius was a ghost ship
, probably legendary and not actual. The story goes that the vessel was found west of Greenland
by the whaler
Herald on October 11, 1775.
Boarded as a derelict
, the boarding party found the entire crew below deck: dead, frozen, and almost perfectly preserved. The captain
's body was supposedly still at the table in his cabin, pen in hand (exactly as in the Schooner Jenny
legend) with the captain's log in front of him. In his cabin there was also a dead woman, a dead boy covered with a blanket and a dead sailor with a tinderbox
. The boarding party took only the captain's log before leaving the vessel, because they were unwilling to search it. The last entry in the log was from November 11, 1762, which meant that the ship had been lost in the Arctic
for 13 years. As the log was frozen, it slipped from the binding, leaving only the first and the last few pages in.
The story's supposed background is that the Octavius had left England
for the Orient
in 1761, and successfully arrived at its destination the following year. The captain gambled on a return through the treacherous (and then unconquered) Northwest Passage
, with the unfortunate result of trapping the vessel in sea ice
north of Alaska
; thus, the Octavius had made the Northwest Passage posthumously. The ship was never seen again after its encounter with the Herald (being carried away by the streams and wind in the night after their encounter). The ships last recorded position was 75°N 160°W.
Ghost ship
A ghost ship is a supposedly haunted or ghostly vessel, such as the Flying Dutchman.The same term is also used to describe derelict ships found adrift with their entire crew either missing or dead, such as the Mary Celeste or the Baychimo....
, probably legendary and not actual. The story goes that the vessel was found west of Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
by the whaler
Whaler
A whaler is a specialized ship, designed for whaling, the catching and/or processing of whales. The former included the whale catcher, a steam or diesel-driven vessel with a harpoon gun mounted at its bows. The latter included such vessels as the sail or steam-driven whaleship of the 16th to early...
Herald on October 11, 1775.
Boarded as a derelict
Derelict
Derelict or dereliction commonly refers to:* Abandonment of property, then referred to as a 'derelict'* Derelict , property which has been abandoned and deserted at sea by those who were in charge without any hope of recovering it...
, the boarding party found the entire crew below deck: dead, frozen, and almost perfectly preserved. The captain
Captain (nautical)
A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...
's body was supposedly still at the table in his cabin, pen in hand (exactly as in the Schooner Jenny
Schooner Jenny
The Jenny was a British schooner that reportedly became frozen in an ice-barrier of the Drake Passage in 1823, only to be rediscovered years later by a whaling ship, the bodies aboard being preserved by the Antarctic cold...
legend) with the captain's log in front of him. In his cabin there was also a dead woman, a dead boy covered with a blanket and a dead sailor with a tinderbox
Tinderbox
A tinderbox is a small container containing flint, firesteel, and tinder , used together to help kindle a fire....
. The boarding party took only the captain's log before leaving the vessel, because they were unwilling to search it. The last entry in the log was from November 11, 1762, which meant that the ship had been lost in the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
for 13 years. As the log was frozen, it slipped from the binding, leaving only the first and the last few pages in.
The story's supposed background is that the Octavius had left England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
for the Orient
Orient
The Orient means "the East." It is a traditional designation for anything that belongs to the Eastern world or the Far East, in relation to Europe. In English it is a metonym that means various parts of Asia.- Derivation :...
in 1761, and successfully arrived at its destination the following year. The captain gambled on a return through the treacherous (and then unconquered) Northwest Passage
Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...
, with the unfortunate result of trapping the vessel in sea ice
Sea ice
Sea ice is largely formed from seawater that freezes. Because the oceans consist of saltwater, this occurs below the freezing point of pure water, at about -1.8 °C ....
north of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
; thus, the Octavius had made the Northwest Passage posthumously. The ship was never seen again after its encounter with the Herald (being carried away by the streams and wind in the night after their encounter). The ships last recorded position was 75°N 160°W.
- This ship and its context is seemingly the inspiration for one of the setting events in TardiJacques TardiJacques Tardi is a French comics artist, born 30 August 1946 in Valence, Drôme. He is often credited solely as Tardi.-Biography:After graduating from the École nationale des Beaux-Arts de Lyon and the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris, he started writing comics in 1969, at the...
's graphic novelGraphic novelA graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
, Le démon des glaces ("The Demon of Ice"), 1974. Set in 1889, a passenger carrying loafer named "L'Anjou" passing the Barents SeaBarents SeaThe Barents Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of Norway and Russia. Known in the Middle Ages as the Murman Sea, the sea takes its current name from the Dutch navigator Willem Barents...
has an (as it turns out) fatal encounter with a strange, ghostly ship which is somehow stranded on the top of a huge icebergIcebergAn iceberg is a large piece of ice from freshwater that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. It may subsequently become frozen into pack ice...
. The ship is called "The Iceland Loafer", and when the crew of L´Anjou enters it by ascending the iceberg, the full crew of the loafer is found as mentioned above, including the captain in his cabin, mysteriously pointing in his frozen state to a certain point on his naval map (where they actually are). Immediately here after, their mother ship, L´Anjou is blown up in front of their eyes, and they're now stranded on the ghost ship... another (yet less) possible inspiration is the strange case of Mary CelesteMary CelesteThe Mary Celeste was an American brigantine merchant ship famous for having been discovered on 4 December 1872, in the Atlantic Ocean unmanned and apparently abandoned , despite the fact that the weather was fine and her crew had been experienced and able...
.