''Dijmphna'' was as
schooner-rigged
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoo ...
steamship, built in 1871 in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and named ''Linköping''. During her first years ''Linköping'' sailed as a merchant in the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
and the
Baltic
Baltic may refer to:
Peoples and languages
* Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian
*Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
but was sold in 1882 to the wealthy coffee trader and businessman
Antoine Cyrille Frederik Gamél in Copenhagen. The ship was renamed ''Dijmphna'' in memory of Gamèl's mother,
Maria Dijmphna Verves, reinforced for sailing in ice and equipped as polar expedition vessel, all paid for by Gamèl.
The Dijmphna expedition
The purpose of the expedition and the reason for purchasing the ship was the idea proposed by
Andreas Peter Hovgaard
Andreas Peter Hovgaard (1 November 1853 – 15 March 1910) was a Danish naval officer and Arctic explorer.
Hovgaard became a sub-lieutenant of the Danish Navy in 1874, rising to the rank of Lieutenant (navy), lieutenant in 1876, Captain (naval) ...
that an undiscovered land mass existed north of the
Taymyr Peninsula
The Taymyr Peninsula (russian: Таймырский полуостров, Taymyrsky poluostrov) is a peninsula in the Far North of Russia, in the Siberian Federal District, that forms the northernmost part of the mainland of Eurasia. Administrati ...
.
The aim of the expedition was to find this land mass and follow the eastern coast towards the
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...
. The expedition was a contribution to the
first International Polar Year
The International Polar Years (IPY) are collaborative, international efforts with intensive research focus on the polar regions. Karl Weyprecht, an Austro-Hungarian naval officer, motivated the endeavor in 1875, but died before it first occurred i ...
and one of the goals was to join with the Dutch expedition led by
Maurits Snellen, on the Norwegian polar ship ''
Varna
Varna may refer to:
Places Europe
*Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria
**Varna Province
**Varna Municipality
** Gulf of Varna
**Lake Varna
**Varna Necropolis
*Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy
*Varniai, a city in Lithuania
* Varna (Šaba ...
''.
![Dijmphna Karasee](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Dijmphna_Karasee.png)
''Dijmpna'' left
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
on 18 July 1882, with provisions for 27 months, and two weeks later than
Varna
Varna may refer to:
Places Europe
*Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria
**Varna Province
**Varna Municipality
** Gulf of Varna
**Lake Varna
**Varna Necropolis
*Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy
*Varniai, a city in Lithuania
* Varna (Šaba ...
had left
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
. Leader of the expedition was
Andreas Peter Hovgaard
Andreas Peter Hovgaard (1 November 1853 – 15 March 1910) was a Danish naval officer and Arctic explorer.
Hovgaard became a sub-lieutenant of the Danish Navy in 1874, rising to the rank of Lieutenant (navy), lieutenant in 1876, Captain (naval) ...
, with lieutenants
Niels Theodor Olsen and
Alfred Garde as second and third commanding officers. On board was also the botanist
Theodor Herman Holm.
The expedition sailed along the coast of
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, across the
Barents Sea
The Barents Sea ( , also ; no, Barentshavet, ; russian: Баренцево море, Barentsevo More) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territo ...
and to the southern tip of
Novaja Zemlja, which was reached on 7 August 1882. Heavy
drift ice
Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object (shoals, grounded icebergs, etc.).Leppäranta, M. 2011. The Drift of Sea Ice. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Unlike fast ice, which is "fasten ...
was encountered in the
Kara Sea
The Kara Sea (russian: Ка́рское мо́ре, ''Karskoye more'') is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. ...
, preventing further progress. Botanical studies were undertaken on
Novaja Zemlja while waiting for ice conditions to improve. Only a month later, on 7 September, did ''Dijmphna'' make its way into the
Kara Sea
The Kara Sea (russian: Ка́рское мо́ре, ''Karskoye more'') is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. ...
. Here the expedition rescued a Russian hunter, Bibikof, who had been stuck on
Novaja Zemlja for two years. After Bibikof had been sailed to the mainland, south of
Vaygach Island
Vaygach Island (russian: Вайга́ч, ''Vajgač''; Nenets: Вай Хабць, romanized: ''Vai Habcj’'') an island in the Arctic Sea between the Pechora Sea and the Kara Sea.
Vaygach Island is separated from the Yugorsky Peninsula in the ...
, ''Dijmphna'' finally made contact with ''Varna''. ''Varna'' was stuck in the ice and as ''Dijmphna'' tried to assist her, ''Dijmphna'' itself got stuck as well. On Christmas Eve 1882 the ice movements became so violent that ''Varna'' was crushed and the crew was transferred to ''Dijmphna'' to overwinter on the small ship together with its own crew. The ice did not loosen grip of the ships before the middle of July 1883, where ''Varna'' finally sank and ''Dijmphna'' could continue its voyage.
Snellen Snellen is a Dutch surname. ''Snel'' means "quick" in Dutch and the original bearer of the name may have been a lively person. However, the origin of the surname often was patronymic, as Snel and Snelle were short forms of the archaic Germanic give ...
continued his studies, now from small boats and sledges, along the coast of
Novaja Zemlja. On 25 August 1883 Snellen and his crew met the ship ''
A.E. Nordenskiöld'', sent to look for them, and they were brought back to
Hammerfest
Hammerfest (; sme, Hámmerfeasta ) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. Hammerfest is the northernmost town in the world with more than 10,000 inhabitants. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hammerfe ...
, where they could wire a message to Gamél that ''Dijmphna'' and crew were fine. That was the first sign of life heard from ''Dijmphna'' for more than a year.
However, the trouble for ''Dijmphna'' was not over. On 2 August, the day after Snellen left the ship, the
propeller shaft
A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connect ...
broke and the ship was again stuck in the ice. The ice did not loosen its grip until 13 September, where they could continue by sail and
warping, until they finally arrived at
Vardø
( fi, Vuoreija, fkv, Vuorea, se, Várggát) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county in the extreme northeastern part of Norway. Vardø is the easternmost town in Norway, more to the east than Saint Petersburg or Istanbul. The administra ...
, Norway in beginning of November. Here they were able to repair the ship and continue the journey homeward. ''Dijmphna'' made a short call in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
and finally arrived in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
on 9 December 1883, to receive a royal welcome.
Other
Dijmphna Sund is a sound in NE-Greenland (80°07.0´N 18°00.0´W), separating
Hovgaard Island and
Lynn Island, and named after ''Dijmphna'' by the
Danmark Expedition
The Denmark expedition ( da, Danmark-ekspeditionen), also known as the Denmark Expedition to Greenland's Northeast Coast, and as the Danmark Expedition after the ship, was an expedition to the northeast of Greenland in 1906–1908.
Despite being ...
1906-08.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Dijmphna Expedition Photographsat Dartmouth College Library
Research vessels of Denmark
Arctic expeditions
Ships built in Sweden
1871 ships