In 1616, William Baffin charted parts of Baffin Bay and sailed his ship, the Discovery, as far north as latitude 77. Henry Hudson, in his ship Discovery, also searched for the Northwest Passage. He sailed through what is now called Hudson Strait and into the Bay that bears his name in June of 1610. He thought he had found the mythical Northwest Passage. He explored the eastern shores of Hudson Bay and spent the winter in the extreme south of James Bay.
Nothing is known of their fate.
Sent by the King of Denmark, Jens Munk led an expedition in 1619 to seek a passage through the Hudson Bay to the Pacific Ocean. The expedition wintered on the Churchill River but by the end of January, men were dying of scurvy. Jens Munk himself died before the voyage was over. John Ross, another English explorer, looked for the passage. Thinking he saw mountains barring his way, he returned to England.