John Davis - 1585, 1586, 1587

Accomplishments:

• Davis sighted land somewhere along the east Gronland coast on his first voyage and rounded Cape Farewell, which he thought was Frobisher's "Queen Elizabeth's Forelande"
• he stopped at Gilbert Sound (the present Godthaab Fiord) before reaching the east coast of Baffin Island, near Exeter Sound
• he then went around the Cape of God's Mercy (the present Cape Mercy) and followed the north shore of Cumberland Sound, while exploring some of the islands at its head
• he believed that the tides found there originated to the west of the islands and led him to the conclusion that somewhere up one of the channels lay the Northwest Passage
• on his second voyage Davis reached Disko Island on the west coast of Gronland
• he then crossed the western side of Davis Strait and landed near Cape Mercy, unable to recognize it as his discovery from his previous voyage
• Davis then continued south along the Labrador coast before returning home
• Davis reached the vicinity of Upernavik in 72º42'N on his third voyage
• he once again landed off Exeter Sound and again he explored Cumberland Sound, believing it still to be a strait
• he then sailed past the entrance to Frobisher Bay, which he named "Lumley Inlet", passed the entrance to Hudson Strait and continued along the Labrador coast close to Newfoundland

Interesting Facts:

• Davis was the first person to draw attention to the sealing and whaling possibilities in Davis Strait and to show that the Newfoundland cod fisheries extended far northwards along the Labrador Coast
• Davis' "Traverse Book" from his final voyage has since become the model for ships' log-books

View Voyage Route

Information taken from Arctic Canada, Volume I, Third Edition, 1982