In 1856, Dufferin commissioned the schooner "Foam" and set off on a journey around the North Atlantic. He first made landfall on Iceland, where he visited the then very small Reykjavík, the plains of Þingvellir, and Geysir. Returning to Reykjavík, "Foam" was towed north by Prince Napoleon, who was on an expedition to the region in the steamer "La Reine Hortense". Dufferin sailed close to Jan Mayen Island, but was unable to land there due to heavy ice and caught only a very brief glimpse of the island through the fog. From Jan Mayen, "Foam" sailed on to northern Norway, stopping at Hammerfest before sailing for Spitzbergen.