re: The Northwest Passage and the fresh discovery of exploration vessel H.M.S. Investigator.

“The ship had not moved too much from where it was abandoned,” said Bernier.

The masts and rigging have long been sheared off by ice and weather. But the icy waters of the McClure Strait has preserved the vessel in remarkably good condition.

“It’s incredible,” said Prentice from Mercy Bay. “You’re actually able to peer down into the water and see not only the outline of the ship but actually the individual timbers.

Archaeologists have also uncovered artifacts on land left behind by the stranded sailors, who unloaded everything before abandoning the Investigator.

The graves of three sailors thought to have died of scurvy have been marked off and will be left undisturbed, said Bernier.