author
Bob Bartlett
1875–1946
Drawn north by ice, danger, and discovery, this master mariner spent decades exploring the Arctic and writing about life at sea. His adventures with major expeditions helped turn firsthand experience into vivid books of exploration.
1 Audiobook
The last voyage of the Karluk : Flagship of Vilhjalmar Stefansson's Canadian Arctic expedition of 1913-16
by Bob Bartlett, Ralph T. (Ralph Tracy) Hale
About the author
Born in Brigus, Newfoundland, in 1875, Bob Bartlett—more formally Robert Abram Bartlett—became one of the best-known Arctic navigators of his era. He went to sea young, later captained Robert Peary’s ship Roosevelt on the 1908–09 North Pole expedition, and earned a reputation for skill, toughness, and calm leadership in extreme conditions.
Bartlett is also remembered for commanding the Karluk during the ill-fated Canadian Arctic Expedition. After the ship was crushed by ice, he made a long journey over the ice and across Siberia to seek rescue, an episode that became central to his public image as a seasoned explorer and survivor.
Alongside his voyages, he wrote about the Arctic for general readers. His books draw on real experience at sea and in the far north, blending travel, adventure, and observation from a lifetime spent in some of the world’s harshest waters. He died in 1946, but his name remains closely tied to Newfoundland seafaring history and Arctic exploration.