Amazing footage of Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship, Endurance. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-60662541 A personal hero of mine, his story is unbelievable. In 1915 his ship was stuck in ice in the Weddell sea (Antarctica) after 10 months the ship was crushed and sank. He managed to get his 28 men in small boats across the ice to Elephant Island in April. This is a small island with massive cliffs but as no ships passed this way there was no chance of rescue. He then set off in a converted life boat to navigate 800 miles across the southern Ocean and land on South Georgia, if he had missed it they would have been lost. After 15 days they managed to land, but on the wrong side of the island! So they then had to climb over the mountains and walk 22 miles to reach a whaling station. Shackleton arranged a rescue party and after many delays reached Elephant Island again 137 days after they landed there. All the men survived (although many then went off to fight in the 1st World war and were killed in action). In 1921 he went back South but died of a heart attack and is buried at South Georgia. They discovered the wreck 100 years to the day after he was buried. Full story here: https://www.coolantarctica.com/Anta...eton-Endurance-Trans-Antarctic_expedition.php I was incredibly lucky to visit both his grave on South Georgia, the waterfall where Shackleton heard the whaling station whistle at Stromness and Elephant Island (although it was too rough to land there).
Some pictures from our trip there: Shackleton's grave - we toasted 'The Boss' with whisky and then poured a few drops on his grave. Whaling Station View from the top of the waterfall back towards Stromness Stromness whaling station Elephant Island showing Point Wilde (where the camp was) As you can see the cliffs go straight into the sea on most of Elephant Island This tiny flat section is where they survived for 137 days by killing and eating seals and penguin Me, looking a bit emotional when we arrived at Elephant Island This is my favourite picture from the trip.
The James Caird, the boat he and his men escaped in is on display at his (and my) old school It's absolutely tiny, the seamanship and outright bravery they all displayed is unimaginable.
My maternal grandmother was a close relative of his family. According to my family stories handed down when I was a child, I inherited his family knee in my genes. It’s a small world. Andy
They had the James Caird at the Royal Greenwich museum a few years ago for the South Pole expedition, it really is tiny.
