'' Gjøa '' left Gjoa Haven on August 13 , 1905 , and motored through the treacherous straits south of Victoria Island , and from there west into the Beaufort Sea . By October '' Gjøa '' was again iced-in , this time near Herschel Island in the Yukon . Amundsen left his men on board and spent much of the winter skiing 500 miles south to Eagle , Alaska to telegraph news of the expedition 's success . He returned in March , but '' Gjøa '' remained icebound until July 11 . '' Gjøa '' reached Nome on August 31 , 1906 . She sailed on to earthquake ravaged San Francisco , California , where the expedition was met with a hero 's welcome on October 19
earthquake ravaged
1906 San Francisco earthquake
Gjøa