The Ghost Ship Octavius: A Frozen Time Capsule from the Northwest Passage

August 5, 2025

There's something about ghost-ship stories that grabs you by the throat and won't let go—and few are as bone-chilling as the tale of the Octavius. Here's what went down when ambition met the Arctic's icy grip, and a proud trading schooner became frozen legend.

Setting Sail for the Orient

Departure

In 1761, the British merchant brig Octavius slipped out of London Harbor, bound for China with a full cargo and 28 souls aboard—including the captain's wife and young son.

Successful First Leg

She arrived in Canton in 1762, unloaded, reloaded, and stood out to sea again—this time carrying exotic goods back to England.

A Fatal Shortcut Through Ice

Bold Gamble

Instead of the usual southern route, her captain bet on the still-uncharted Northwest Passage—a route so remote few dared the attempt.

Trapped in the Pack

Somewhere north of Alaska, the Octavius was crushed by shifting ice floes. Streams and winds carried her slowly west and south, utterly abandoned.

Discovery by the Whaler Herald

October 11, 1775

Fourteen years after her disappearance, the whaler Herald spotted a derelict vessel drifting off Greenland's jagged coast. Her sails were shredded, hull battered—but eerily intact.

Boarding the Frozen Dead

A boarding party climbed down into the gloom—and found every crewmember below deck, motionless and perfectly preserved in ice.

The captain, pen still frozen between his fingers, sat at his desk in his cabin, logbook open before him. Nearby lay his wife wrapped in a blanket, and a young boy, curled against the cold.

Twenty-eight souls, all gone—but with a final entry in the log dated November 11, 1762 marking the ship's last living coordinates at 75° N, 160° W.

What Really Happened?

Northwest Passage—Achieved or Cursed?

Some say the Octavius unwittingly completed the fabled passage—only to drift helplessly until she was found.

Legend vs. Fact

No bodies were ever recovered; the ship was carried off by currents after the Herald crew fled in terror, clutching only the first and last pages of that frozen log.