The famous French polar explorer dr. Jean-Baptiste Charcot (1867-1936) was one of the great explorers of Antarctic and Arctic. His most famous research vessel was the Pourquoi pas? (Why not?).The Pourquoi pas? stopped frequently in Iceland on its way into the Arctic. On the 16th of September 1936 Pourquoi pas? got unexpectedly into high storm off Reykjanes, SW Iceland, got carried with the wind ashore and perished . 40 persons died; 23 were found dead and 17 were reported missing. Only one person survived. Statue by Einar Jónsson made in memory of the crew. A cast of this same statue can be found in Saint-Malo on the Brittany peninsula in Northern France,