The Eira Scientific Expedition
The Eira Scientific Expedition, managed by the Swiss Association of Exploration (ASE-SAE), aims to confirm the location of, and to study, the Eira wreck.
The Eira project presents more than just an opportunity to learn more about our past. One of its most significant missions will be the deployment of an international team of specialists to study the wreckage located in most northerly point in the world. Their findings will uncover the secrets which lie below the surface.
A recent expedition to Franz Josef Land found wooden remains in the exact area where the renowned explorer, Benjamin Leigh-Smith, recorded his ship as having sunk in 1881. If confirmed as the Eira, this major discovery will enable access inside the life of one the great explorers and adventurers the world has known.
The fact that the wreck does not appear to have been destroyed by drifting ice is incredible, making it all the more urgent to act now and preserve the heritage left behind by the heroes of the Arctic expedition.
This expedition, led by the ASE-SEA, with the collaboration of the Russian Arctic National Park, is scheduled to take place in the summer of 2022, approximately 140 years after the disappearance of Eira in the deepest depths of the Arctic.
A documentary film will be produced with the objective of ensuring that this fascinating story is made accessible to a wide audience.
The Significance of the Expedition
Identifying, studying and preserving the wreck of the Eira has never been more important than today.
The remains of the Eira will provide a window into the past, allowing the exploration team to learn more about what happened but as importantly about the present and ways in which science can help protect the ocean. The results from an inventory of the wreck’s condition will play a major role in studying the human impact of the Arctic region.
With the polar regions severely impacted by climate change, the window of opportunity for research is closing, the disappearance of the Arctic ice cover and marine erosion threatens the possibility of such research in the Arctic. Advanced technologies will be used to analyse the seabed in the search for the wreckage of the "Eira" before further marine erosion leads to the complete disappearance of artifacts.
During his last expedition to the area, in 2015, Milko Vuille, observed multiple archaeological remains on land, exposed by the retreating ice. One of the goals of the expedition will be to study these fragments of history, some of the last remains of the race to the North Pole.
The History of Eira
Diving into the history of the Eira leads immediately to the explorer, Benjamin Leigh-Smith, and his enthralling adventures.
Born in 1828 in a wealthy British family, Leigh-Smith studied law at Cambridge, but never practiced as he chose to master the art of navigation instead.
Leigh-Smith was already fascinated by the great explorers who would regularly feature on the front covers of newspapers. He was deeply affected by the mystery surrounding the ill-fated Arctic expedition led by Captain Sir John Franklin in 1845.
Leigh-Smith also held a keen interest into the disappearance of Jeannette, a vessel which was part of the American Arctic Expedition, led by George W. De Long from 1879 to 1881. Indeed he was actively involved in its search during his own Arctic expeditions.
Thanks to his wealth, Leigh-Smith was able to take part in several scientific expeditions before building the Eira, a 38-metre steamship, launched in Peterhead, Scotland, in 1880.
In contrast to many fellow explorers at that time, Leigh-Smith did not seek public recognition. Largely ignored by history, Leigh-Smith was one of the first to identify the influence of ocean currents that could help expeditions to reach the North Pole, by discovering the presence of the Gulf Stream close to Spitsbergen.
A true pioneer he was also responsible for opening the shipping route to the Franz Josef archipelago in the early 1880s onboard the Eira. Many places in the Franz Josef Islands and Spitsbergen have been named in his honour.
Throughout his life, Leigh-Smith would cross paths with many notable figures of the era, such as a young Arthur Conan Doyle, who would pen the Sherlock Holmes novels, and who was photographed onboard the Eira, as well as famous explorers such as Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, Karl Weyprecht, Julius Payer and Frederick George Jackson.
On 21 August 1881, 140 years ago, the Eira expedition came to an abrupt end at Cape Flora on Northbrook Island, in the Russian Franz Josef Islands archipelago. On her mission to reach the North Pole, the Eira struck drifting icebergs and sank within hours, leaving all 25 crew members on the ice floe. Thanks though to Leigh-Smith’s leadership skills, everyone survived the ten-month ordeal in the most extreme conditions.
On 21 June 1882, once the ice pack opened, the crew left the Northbrook Island aboard lifeboats salvaged from the wreck. For seven weeks, they sailed through terrible storms, risking their lives. Completely exhausted, a rescue ship came to their aid on 3 August 1882 when they reached the coast of Novaya Zemlya.
“Eira: Welsh for snow. Eira originates from old norse, in norse mythology Eir is a goddess of medicine and health”
Become a Patron?
The Eira Scientific Expedition is a unique opportunity to contribute to a historical project of great magnitude. Great explorers and their tales have always fed our dreams and they continue to do so by taking us to little known places, where mysteries and heroes abound. Beyond the fantasy that arises with the mere thought of those adventures, comes the willingness to support a journey that brings together different countries and carries a message of human spirit and unity.
By adding your name to this project, you will be directly associated not only with the spirit of those heroes, but also with the safeguarding the cultural and natural heritage of our beautiful yet fragile planet. Supporting this expedition means actively contributing to the protection of our history and environment and fighting some of the biggest challenges of the present and future.
Association Suisse d’Explorations
IBAN: CH430029029014070401V
BIC/ SWIFT: UBSWCHZH80A
UBS Switzerland AG
Place Pury, 5
2000 Neuchâtel
“
I am very interested to learn of the forthcoming expedition in search of Benjamin Leigh-Smith’s ship Eira
.”
— Professor JA Dowdeswell - Director of the Scott Polar Research Institute
Our Team
Milko Vuille
Milko Vuille is the founder and president of the Swiss Association of Exploration and the Eira's expedition leader, he is a passionate explorer-adventurer with more than one string to his bow. Archeological diver, underwater photographer, racing driver and Camel Trophy competitor, or area sales manager in the watchmaking, perfume and machine tool industries, the compulsive adventurer leaves no-one unmoved, gladly sharing his fascinating exploits.
Above all, though, Milko is a daring and tenacious explorer with a committed passion for the Eira, Benjamin Leigh-Smith’s steamship, that disappeared in the Arctic waters during his expedition to the North Pole in 1881.
Milko’s life ambition? Being able to formally identify Eira’s wreck, to study it and to uncover the hidden secrets of this historical gem through archeological research.
And for that, Milko has left nothing to chance. In 2003, when he first learned about the Eira and Benjamin Leigh-Smith’s voyage, Milko became infatuated with the story. Ever since, he has read every existing document, crossed-referenced sources and even gone as far as scouting the location during a 2015 expedition to Cape Flora in Franz Josef Land.
In 2007, Christopher Leigh-Smith, the grandson of Benjamin Leigh-Smith contacted Milko. Both were living in Switzerland, they became friends and Christopher entrusted Milko with perpetuating the family heritage by entrusting documents, that belonged to his grandfather Benjamin and his father Philip Leigh-Smith.
Milko often compares Benjamin Leigh-Smith’s 1881-1882 Eira expedition to Ernest Shackleton’s 1914-1917 Endurance Antarctic expedition.
Do not mistake his passion for such stories and his insatiable taste for adventure for daydreams, Milko is first and foremost a determined and hard worker, aware of the importance of surrounding himself with individuals capable of properly bringing back to life the history associated with the Eira.
With the support of the Russian authorities and of a well-rounded team of experts, Milko will finally launch his dream expedition in the summer of 2022.
Alexander Kirilov
Alexander Kirilov, director of the Arctic National Park, an important partner of the expedition, has closely supported the project since 2013. Logistics and on-site personnel safety fall under his responsibility. With his extensive experience in the region and in the field of nature conservation, Alexander Kirilov is a true local authority and a great asset to the Eira Scientific Expedition.
Our Partners
Russian Arctic National Park
The Eira Scientific Expedition is proud to have the support of the Russian Arctic National Park and to be able to benefit from the body’s substantial expertise in the region. The Park, established in June 2009, is the largest national reserve in Russia. Comprising approximately 2.2 million hectares of land over 6.6 million hectares of the Arctic Ocean, including Severny Island on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, part of the Barents Sea, and 192 islands of the Franz Josef Land Federal Conservation Area.
The administrative headquarters of the Russian Arctic National Park are located in Arkhangelsk, the administrative centre of Arkhangelsk Oblast, in the northwest of Russia.
