William Baffin voyage. Baffin served as pilot of "Discovery", which left England under Captain Robert Bylot on 15 March. It carefully explored Hudson Strait in search of a Northwest Passage from the North Atlantic to the Far East. The accuracy of Baffin's tidal and astronomical observations on this voyage was confirmed when William Edward Parry passed over the same ground in 1821. Baffin again sailed as pilot of "Discovery" the next year. Leaving Gravesend on 26 March, he passed west of Greenland up the Davis Strait, discovering the large bay to its north which now bears his name, together with a series
Baffin Bay Merchants of London, Discoverers of the North-West Passage". Their governor Thomas Smythe organized five expeditions to explore the northern coasts of Canada in search of a maritime passage to the Far East. Henry Hudson and Thomas Button's explored Hudson Bay, William Gibbons Labrador, and Robert Bylot Hudson Strait and the area which became known as Baffin's Bay after his pilot William Baffin. Aboard the "Discovery", Baffin charted the area and named Lancaster, Smith, and Jones Sounds after members of his company. By the completion of his 1616 voyage, Baffin held out no hope of an ice-free passage and the area