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Some
three years later, his wish was granted. On July 19, 1738
the Aigle and Marie left the port of Lorient
on a course for Santa Catarina Island off the coast of
Brazil. Bovet landed in early October, made repairs,
resupplied the vessel and sailed southeast one month later.
Although poorly equipped for the cold weather to follow, the
ships crossed the 44th parallel on December 10th. Shrouded
in fog, this was the area placed on early maps where Bouvet
was to find Terres Inconnues. It wasn't until
December 15th that the fog lifted and, unfortunately, all
that was discovered was a large iceberg! The next day
they had their first penguin encounter with Bouvet
describing them as "amphibious creatures that look like
large ducks, but have fins instead of wings". Continuing
south, by the end of December they were nearly 1600 miles
from inhabited land. Icebergs were increasingly present
causing much fear in the crew..."In effect [they]
are floating rocks which are more to be feared than land. If
we hit one we will be lost...". On January 1, 1739, at 3:00
pm they spotted "a very high land, covered with snow, which
appeared through the mist". It really was a miracle as
Bouvet stumbled upon the only land within 20 degrees west
and 90 degrees east! Bouvet believed it to be a promontory
of the Antarctic mainland and promptly named it the "Cape of
Circumcision". For twelve days Bouvet tried to land on the
island but the dense fog suggested he continue to wait. Food
supplies became short and the crew fell sick with scurvy.
With his crew devastated, Bouvet surrendered to the weather
and headed east, following the 52nd parallel while skirting
the ice floes. The crew had spotted a significant number of
penguins and seals suggesting Terres Australes lay to the
south. On January 25, Bouvet's seriously ill crew turned
north for the Cape of Good Hope and anchored there on
February 24. It took
three long months for the return voyage to France, reaching
the port of Lorient on June 24. Five days later Bouvet
drafted a letter which was sent to his directors suggesting
his intense disappointment: Although
hugely disappointed, Bouvet was admired as an explorer with
his name being added to the "Compagnie's" roll of honor. A
number of navigational errors were committed by Bouvet
during his exploration casting doubt on the very existence
of his Cape of Circumcision. Captains Cook and Ross both
tried to find it, without success, as it had been
incorrectly charted. Incredibly, it was 1808 before again
being sighted, this time by the English whalers James
Lindsay of the Snow Swan and Thomas Hopper of the
Otter. As with Bouvet, they were unable to approach
the island. The first landing did not come until 1822 when
American Benjamin Morrell forged on shore. In honor of the
discoverer, he renamed it Bouvet's Island. Three years later
an Englishman, Norris, chose to rename it Liverpool Island
but on December 1, 1929, a Norwegian expedition claimed the
22 square mile island for Norway and once again credited its
original discoverer by naming it Bouvet Island.
Jean
Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier was born in 1705. Orphaned
at the age of 7, after finishing his education in Paris he
was sent to work in the shipyards at St. Malo. He studied
navigation and received the rank of lieutenant in the
Compagnie des Indes in 1731. With an strong wish to
explore the southern seas, he went to his employers in 1733
with a plan of exploration. He asked for two ships
consisting of a frigate and a larger trading vessel. For
this, he promised to search the southern seas for land that
could accommodate French trading vessels on route to the Far
East. With a touch of arrogance, Bouvet adamantly expressed
his desires to discover new land, in the name of France, and
"If the Company accepts my plans, I insist on being given
complete authority and made Governor of whatever I discover.
A New Europe offers itself to whomsoever dares to discover
it!"I am sorry to inform you that
the Terres Australes are much further from the Pole than
hitherto believed, and completely unsuitable as a staging
post for vessels en route to the Indies. We have sailed
1200-1500 leagues (3600-4500 miles) in unknown waters,
and for seventy days encountered almost continuous fog.
We were forty days among the icebergs and we had hail and
snow almost every day. The cold was severe for men
accustomed to a warmer climate. They were badly clothed
and had no means of drying their bedding. Many suffered
from chilblains but they had to keep working. I saw
sailors crying with cold as they hauled in the sounding
line. To alleviate the men's discomfort I distributed
blankets, hats, shoes, old clothes...and I opened two
kegs of brandy to issue to the crew. The dangers were as
great as the discomforts. For more than two months we had
been in uncharted waters. We had very little daylight and
there were few times when we weren't encountering some
kind or risk...It was not the officers and crew who
failed in their mission, but rather the mission that
failed them".