The _Windward_ set sail down the Thames in July 1894, and early in August she reached Archangel, where she took on board a number of dogs, four ponies, and three portable houses. The passage across Barents Sea was not unattended by difficulties and occupied some eleven days, while another fortnight was spent in tacking about before Bell Island, a nearer approach to the land being made impossible by the girdle of ice which surrounded it. On September 10, however, the _Windward_ cast anchor off Cape Flora, the westernmost point of Northbrook Island, and here the party erected their winter house, to which they gave the name of Elmwood. Mr Jackson made it evident at once that he had at any rate one of the qualities essential to a successful Arctic explorer, in that he was a splendid disciplinarian. He was convinced that if good health was to be preserved, every member of his party must be kept constantly busy, so he saw to it that his men always had plenty of occupation. If they were not at work, they were sent out hunting, game being exceedingly plentiful on the island. If they were not hunting, they were made to play football or other games. The results triumphantly justified his methods, for during the three years that they spent on Franz Josef Land not a member of his party had an hour’s illness and not a single man had to knock off work through indisposition. The crew of the _Windward_, on the other hand, who were not under his immediate supervision, and who were allowed to please themselves as to how they occupied their time, became subject to scurvy, to which several of them succumbed. The winter passed without incident, and as soon as spring came round they set about trying their sledges and making preparations for their first journey of exploration. This was begun on April 16, and in the course of it Jackson and his two companions, Lieutenant Armitage and Blonkvist, pushed north as far as Back Island, where Nansen and Johansen were destined to build their winter hut four months later. They were prevented from going much further, however, by the fact that their way led them through a mixture of snow and mud, which their ponies were quite unable to negotiate; accordingly there was nothing for them to do but to make their way home to Elmwood House. In June the _Windward_ got up steam and set sail for England, leaving the explorers behind. Her voyage proved to be one of the most trying description, for so dense was the pack that it took her sixty-five days to plough her way through it. No provision had been made for such an eventuality, and she soon found herself short of coal, with the result that she had to burn her masts, her bridge, and any other timber that she could spare in order to keep her engines going.