Sailing ships have braved the difficult waters of the Arctic for centuries, but few have been so successful, or returned so frequently, as the Bowdoin and the Effie M. Morrissey. Thanks to their skilled captains, Donald B. MacMillan and Robert A. Bartlett, these ships repeatedly navigated uncharted waters from Labrador’s dangerous coast to the ice choked bays of Greenland and Baffin Island. They carried scientists researching the wonders of the Arctic, and supplies and medical aid to remote communities. Now celebrated as National Historic Landmarks, both ships are fondly remembered in the many northern communities they returned to year after year.

Pictured above: Unknown photographer, Wiscasset, 1925. Gift of Dr. Edward K. Morse.