Bartlett and Ernestina

SEA & ICE: The Extraordinary Life of Captain Bob Bartlett


         

On display at the Ocean Explorium--SEA & ICE: The Extraordinary Life of Captain Bob Bartlett--is an exhibit lovingly designed by the Historic Sites Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

Captain Bartlett was a renowned Arctic explorer who successfully navigated Admiral Peary to his discovery of the North Pole in 1909. Owner of the Effie M. Morrissey, now Schooner Ernestina, from 1926 - 1946, Capt. Bartlett made annual trips to the Arctic for scientific expeditions and anthropologic studies.

Some of these excursions were sponsored by National Geographic, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Museum of Natural History.  Captain Bartlett and the Effie M. Morrissey also were commissioned by the U.S. Navy to survey the Arctic during World War II. 

The Effie M. Morrissey was purchased by Henrique Mendes of Cape Verde in 1948 and the vessel's name was changed to Ernestina. The ship sailed among the Cape Verde Islands and to the United States, carrying passengers and goods between the two countries. In 1982 the people of Cape Verde presented the ship to the people of the United States and in 1986 the Schooner Ernestina began her fourth career as a sailing school ship in New Bedford.

The Ocean Explorium has incorporated SEA & ICE: The Extraordinary Life of Captain Bob Bartlett into its existing programs, as it tells the story of scientific research under rigorous conditions.  Many of the voyages of the Effie M. Morrissey and Schooner Ernestina have been plotted for display on the Science on a Sphere® exhibit in the Ocean Explorium.