The explorer.

From Wikipedia

Benjamin Leigh Smith, b. 1828 – d. 1913, was a British yachtsman and explorer. Between 1871 and 1882 Mr. Smith undertook no less than five scientific expeditions to Svalbard and Franz Josef Land. Benjamin Leigh Smith was shipwrecked at Cape Flora, Northbrook Island (Franz Josef Land), in 1881. He discovered and named Brochøya, Foynøya, and 31 other points in northeast Svalbard. Despite his expertise in the Arctic, Benjamin Leigh Smith's work has received little attention. Ostrov Li-Smita (Leigh-Smith Island), lying east of Hooker Island (Franz Josef Land), was named after this British yachtsman and explorer.

Leighbreen on Nordaustlandet, Svalbard, is named after him. Also Kapp Leigh Smith on Nordaustlandet is named after him.

See Also

http://www.leigh-smith.org/552/index.html




Polar wreck survivors’ sunken ship Eira discovered in Arctic Ocean
Tom Parfitt, Moscow
October 10 2017, 12:01am, The Times

The 19th-century steam yacht was detected 60ft under the Arctic Ocean using sonar cameras

Russian scientists have found what they believe is a 19th-century British explorer’s ship
at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean.

They found a large wooden object at a depth of about 60ft oE Northbrook Island, on
the southern edge of Franz Josef Land. It is thought to be the Eira, a steam yacht
belonging to Benjamin Leigh Smith that sunk in 1881 after being crushed by ice floes.

Leigh Smith was a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a cousin of Florence
Nightingale. He and the crew of the Eira spent ten months living on the island, eating
rescued provisions and polar bears, walruses and guillemots that they shot. A retriever,
a kitten and a canary were with the 25 castaways. Eventually, he and his men sailed for
43 days to another island in rowing boats fitted with sails made from table cloths. It
was from here that they were rescued. Russian polar specialists have been looking for
the remains since 1985, but several expeditions were thwarted by bad weather.
Recently, chunks of mahogany were found on Northbrook Island, renewing hope that
the boat could be found.

Alexander Chichayev, the deputy leader of the expedition that found the Eira, said that
his team had been lucky. Using sonar, the team discovered an object about 30ft by 150ft
on the sea bed. “I’m almost 100 per cent sure that it’s the Eira,” said Mr Chichayev. A
new expedition is planned for next summer.