Captain Suckling had recently been appointed to the command of the Triumph, then lying at Chatham; on board of which ship he placed his nephew, in July 1772, immediately after the youth’s return from the West Indies, in his old situation on the quarter-deck:  and, though he had, thus, the “aft” situation of “most honour,” the uncle contrived that he should, at the same time, be permitted to enjoy all the advantages of the “forward,” which might be supposed to form “the better man.”  This he judiciously effected, by permitting him to go in the cutter and decked long-boat attached to the commanding officer’s ship at Chatham:  an indulgence which afforded him the highest satisfaction; while it tended so largely to promote his practical knowledge of navigation, that he is said to have soon actually become an excellent pilot for such vessels as sail from Chatham to the Tower of London, and down the Swin Channel to the North Foreland.

It was thus that this young seaman, by being continually engaged in the successful navigation of difficult passages, or dangerous coasts, habitually acquired that experimental reliance on his own skill, and that internal self-possession, which so essentially contribute to establish the dauntless intrepidity of a truly heroic mind.  He felt a conviction of his growing powers, and panted for opportunities of bringing them to the proof.  His present sphere of action, confined to a comparatively small spot, for the Triumph never once went out to sea while he remained on board, made him languish for some new situation, better suited to his enterprising spirit; and it was not long before an occurrence took place, which seemed to promise the gratification of his most sanguine wish.

About the beginning of February 1773, the Earl of Sandwich, then First Lord of the Admiralty, in consequence of an application which had been made to him by the Royal Society, laid before the King a proposal for an expedition to try how far navigation might be practicable towards the North Pole; which his Majesty was pleased to direct should be immediately undertaken, with every encouragement that could countenance such an enterprise, and every assistance that could contribute to it’s success.  The Racehorse and Carcass bombs, being selected as the strongest, and therefore the properest, vessels to be employed in this voyage, were taken into dock, and fitted in the most complete manner for the service.  The command of the former was given to Captain Constantine John Phipps, afterwards Lord Mulgrave; and that of the latter, to Captain Skeffington Lutwidge, now Admiral of the White.  The complement for each was fixed at ninety men; and the ordinary establishment departed from, by appointing an additional number of officers, the whole recommended by their respective captains, and entering effective men instead of the usual number of boys Two masters of Greenlandmen were employed as pilots for each ship; the Racehorse was furnished with new chain-pumps on Captain Bentinck’s