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The 1937 “Thebaud” Expedition to Arctic Canada. The Gertrude L. Thebaud.
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The Gertrude L. Thebaud Built in 1930, the Gertrude L. Thebaud was the last of the Gloucester-built Grand Banks fishing and racing schooners. Although the era of the sailing fisheries was in its twilight, the impetus for building Thebaud was the prospect of capturing the International Fisherman's Trophy from the Nova Scotia fleet. She sailed in two racing series against Gloucester's archrival, Bluenose. In 1931, under Captain Ben Pine, she lost in two straight races. Seven years later, in what proved to be the last contest for the trophy, she won two out of five races held between October 9 and 26. Chartered to the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, she served as flagship of their coastal defense fleet. She ended her days as a cargo vessel in the Caribbean and in February 1948, she hit a breakwater at La Guaira, Venezuela, and broke up.
North to Frobisher Bay When not racing, the Thebaud still had to earn her keep. In the summer of 1937, explorer Donald Macmillan chartered the vessel for his 16th annual Arctic expedition and sailed as far north as Frobisher Bay with thirty-seven University professors, including V. C. Wynne-Edwards, students, and a professional crew under the command of Captain John T. Crowell. In Frobisher Bay a sudden 28-foot drop in tide left the vessel hanging high and dry in a frozen canyon. Unable to radio out, the crew could only hope that the vessel would be lifted by the incoming tide. Pumping, bailing and engine power finally freed her. After having been stranded, with her planking crushed and distorted and leaking profusely, she made an amazing escape, saving thirty-five men from an almost certain Arctic death. Soggy from a deluge of Arctic water filling her to her decks, her hull, machinery, accommodation and valuable scientific material near ruin, Thebaud miraculously sailed home to Gloucester Harbour and the awaiting crowds.
