This search has always fascinated me. The state of the ship’s preservation is amazing.



Wreck was discovered well preserved in the freezing waters; ‘It felt like time travel’

One of the greatest maritime mysteries of modern times was solved when a team of explorers said they had discovered the wreck of Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance, which disappeared under Antarctic sea ice in 1915.

An international team of marine archaeologists and scientists located the wreck 3,000 meters under the Weddell Sea, approximately four miles south of the position originally recorded when Endurance sank.

Videos show the ship, which was discovered on March 5, had been well preserved in the freezing waters, with its name clearly visible across the stern.

“This is by far the finest wooden shipwreck I have ever seen. It is upright, well proud of the seabed, intact, and in a brilliant state of preservation,” said Mensun Bound, the exploration director of the Endurance22 expedition.

The hunt for Endurance was undertaken by the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust on the polar research and logistics vessel the S.A. Agulhas II, which set sail from Cape Town earlier this year and used submersibles to locate the ship.

The wreck is protected as a historic site and monument under the 1959 Antarctic Treaty.

“The water was as clear as distilled water, with a visibility of 30 meters at least. It felt like time travel,” said historian Dan Snow, who was part of the exploration.

The story of Shackleton and Endurance has gone down in Antarctic exploration legend. The Endurance had set sail from Plymouth, England, in August 1914, just as Europe was entering the maelstrom of World War I. The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition was to be led by Shackleton and would be the first attempt to cross the Antarctic continent by foot. However, shortly after leaving South Georgia at the end of 1914, the Endurance was caught in pack ice.

After months spent in makeshift camps on the ice floes drifting northwards, Shackleton and his 27 crew members boarded lifeboats to reach the uninhabited Elephant Island. Shackleton and five others then made an 800-mile open-boat journey to reach South Georgia. From there, the men were eventually able to mount a rescue. Despite being stranded with little food and shelter, all survived.

The 2022 exploration also conducted scientific research on the effects of climate change, including weather conditions of the Weddell Sea and studies of sea ice thickness.“We have undertaken important scientific research in a part of the world that directly affects the global climate and environment,” said Dr. John Shears, the expedition leader.

Write to James Leigh at james.leigh@wsj.com

https://www.wsj.com/articles/e...ing_now_article_pos3

They waited until the last paragraph to get in the obligatory climate change call out. Close call.

Shackleton and his crew were true studs. I kept a Frank Hurley photo of Endurance up in my office.

Thank you for posting. Hope to see an extended special on this.

I wonder if the photographic plates that Hurley had to leave behind are on the ship.

Silent

Great news that they were able to find this old historic ship. Thanks for sharing.

I read a few books about his voyage when I was a teenager, has captivated me ever since. A truly fantastic tale of seamanship and "Endurance".

The state of preservation shown in the photos is astonishing.

Dig it out, bail it out, and sail her home, the old girl deserves nothing less.

If anyone is looking for a good book on this, I highly recommend; "SHACKLETON'S BOAT JOURNEY", by F.A. Worsley, Captain of HMS Endurance. This small boat journey was an astounding feat of navigation, courage, hardship, and leadership.

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
The state of preservation shown in the photos is astonishing.

It's almost unbelievable. It looks like it went down a few months ago.

Another good book is "Shackleton's Forgotten Men" the story of the other half of the expedition.

Just finished listening to "South". (glad I didn't read it lol)


Incredible what he and others like him went through. Like the USS Jeannette, guys stuck in the ice for two years!

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
They waited until the last paragraph to get in the obligatory climate change call out. Close call.

Yes, but what they said (while probably implying man-made climate change religious beliefs) doesn't actually sound like a crazy person. Antarctica does play a role in weather and the changing climate. Climate change is ever-present and not something to be scared of. Climate change is part of earth. It's just too bad they conflate it all with their nasty left-wing-communist beliefs.

I refuse to let them have the entirety of the English language.


And also rainbows. My irrational religious belief talked about rainbows LONG before the leftists tried to steal the rainbow.

Excellent.

The History Cache Podcast made a five part series on Shackleton and his crew's amazing Odyssey. Probably the most in-depth audio (not a book) I've come across.

quote:

Originally posted by Redleg06:
If anyone is looking for a good book on this, I highly recommend; "SHACKLETON'S BOAT JOURNEY", by F.A. Worsley, Captain of HMS Endurance. This small boat journey was an astounding feat of navigation, courage, hardship, and leadership.

A couple of years ago my nephew told me he wanted to learn about leadership and asked who he should read about: Bill Gates? Jeff Bezos? Elon Musk?

I told him ‘None of the above. If you want to learn about a real leader, read about Ernest Shackleton’.

Thanks for the link on that podcast gonna add that to my library.

The History channel is doing a special on Tuesday, 22 March at 10/9c.

Shackleton's Endurance: The Lost Ice Ship Found

https://play.history.com/speci...-lost-ice-ship-found

It’s great to see other people interested in perhaps the greatest explorer of all time.
I first started reading about Shackleton in 1999 and have read just about every book I could get my hand on.

For those of you that might be interested in reading more let me suggest this as your first book..
https://www.amazon.com/Enduran...d_i=0375404031&psc=1

The main reason I’ll suggest Alexander’s book is that she has included dozens of Frank Hurley’s black and white plates which are truly a treasure. You’ll thank me later!

Amazing find. I can't believe how well preserved it is.

I read his diaries, seems like the ship’s back was broken by crushing pack ice