 Jason in Carl Anton Larsen's expedition toAntarctica | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Norway | |
| Name | Jason |
| Owner | Christen Christensen |
| Builder | Rødsverven,Sandefjord, |
| Launched | 1881 |
| Acquired |
|
| Homeport | Sandefjord |
.svg) Italy | |
| Owner | Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi |
| Acquired | 1899 |
| Renamed | Stella Polare |
| Homeport | Genoa |
| Fate | In July 1909 she was given as training ship to an association in Rome and was taken under tow and anchored at Ripa Grande on the river Tiber, Italy. |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Barque |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 147 ft (45 m) |
| Beam | 30.6 ft (9.3 m) |
| Draft | 17 ft (5.2 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails with steam assisted propulsion 60 hp (45 kW). |
| Speed | 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h) |
| Complement | 40 |
Jason was aNorwegianwhaling vessel laid down in 1881 byRødsverven inSandefjord,Norway, the same shipyard which later built Ernest Shackleton's shipEndurance. The ship, financed byChristen Christensen,[1] an entrepreneur fromSandefjord, was noted for his participation in an 1892–1893 Antarctic expedition led byCarl Anton Larsen.[2]
The vessel reached 68°10'S, and set a new record for distance travelled south along the easternAntarctic Peninsula. The ship's first mate during the expedition was Søren Andersen, also of Sandefjord.Jason was sold to an Italian company in 1899 and rechristenedStella Polare.
In 1888,Fridtjof Nansen captainedJason toGreenland in order to attempt the first documented crossing of the island.
From 1892 to 1894, the ship was used on scientific whaling expeditions to the Antarctic, funded by A/S Oceana. The purpose of these expeditions were to map the presence of whales and seals in the area. During this mission,Jason achieved a record of going the furthest south in the area, reaching 68°10'S.
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In 1898 the Italian prince and explorerPrince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi wanted to do polar expeditions. He travelled to Norway and consulted the famous polar explorerFridtjof Nansen that had sailed the furthest north with theColin Archer built polar shipFram in 1893–96. In 1899 Amedo boughtJason, renamed herStella Polare and took her toColin Archer's shipyard. The interior was stripped out and beams, diagonals and knees heavily strengthened the ship.[3] At the same time, Colin Archer fitted outSouthern Cross for polar expeditions and the two ships lay side by side at the yard inLarvik.[3]
Amedeo gathered an expeditionary crew of Italian and Norwegian civilians and sailed fromChristiana on 12 June of that year. By the 30th, they had reachedArchangel, Russia to load sled dogs onto the ship.[4] Leaving Russia, they headed forFranz Josef Land. They landed in Teplitz Bay inRudolf Island, with a hope to establish a winter camp for the expedition. From here, they established a string of camps designed to supply each other with food and men. During the expedition, Amedeo lost two fingers to frostbite, and had to hand command of the voyage over to CaptainUmberto Cagni.[5] On 25 April 1900, Cagni planted the Italian flag at 86°34'N, claiming the title of "Farthest North."
After Amedeo's uncle,King Umberto I of Italy, was killed in July 1900, the widow made a silver replica ofStella Polare at a cost of 12.000 lire and placed it at theVirgin Mary's wonder-working picture in the cathedral of Torino, Italy.[1]
In July 1909 theStella Polare was given as training ship for an association in Rome. She was taken under tow from the arsenal inLa Spezia and anchored at Ripa Grande in the riverTiber, a little upstream of theAventine Hill. There she caught fire, but a part of the bow was saved and put in the museum of Milano.[3][6]
Larsen, C.A. "The Voyage of the "Jason" to the Antarctic Regions."The Geographical Journal, Vol. 4, No. 4. (Oct., 1894), pp. 333–344.
Capital:King Edward Point | |||||||
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| Settlements / Whaling stations | |||||||
| South Georgia islands | |||||||
| South Sandwich Islands |
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