(CNN) – Sometimes shipwrecks contain sunken treasures, cargoes of gold or jewels that tempt bounty hunters to risk treacherous seas in pursuit of lucrative rewards. Other wrecks are treasures in their own right: tales of their ill-fated voyages create a legend that makes them sparkle far more than any bullion or gem.
The wreck of HMS Endurance, finally found deep beneath the icy waters of Antarctica after it was lost 107 years ago, may have been the most valuable shipwreck ever searched for. That’s because its discovery adds another exciting new chapter to an already compelling tale of perseverance and survival that has been repeated for decades and is still inspiring.
Incredibly well-preserved at a depth of almost two miles, the ship has changed little since the day in November 1914, when she finally sank under the ice.
The Endurance got stuck in the ice while crossing the Antarctic Weddell Sea.
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Underwater video filmed by Endurance22, a mission launched by the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust to track the vessel, shows painted logs, an intact railing and the name Endurance written above the five-pointed polar star symbol.
Members of an exploratory expedition spoke of the emotional experience of finding a lost ship amid dangerous ice floes and reuniting with the very ship on which Anglo-Irish polar explorer Ernest Shackleton embarked on a fateful journey from which he and his crew, against all odds, would be one of the greatest heroes of the 20th century.
“I’m telling you, you must be made of stone so you don’t feel a little flimsy at the sight of that star and the name on top,” Mansoon Bound, the mission’s marine archaeologist, told the BBC. “You can see the porthole, which is Shackleton’s cabin. At that moment, you really feel the breath of a great man on the back of your head.”
grandiose ambitions
Shackleton’s leadership was critical to saving his men.
Frank Hurley/Scott Institute of Polar Research/Univ. Cambridge/Getty Images
The reason why Shackleton is still hailed as a “great man” at a time when the reputation of other historical figures is crumbling under the scrutiny of their exploitative successes becomes apparent when one considers what he achieved in the face of adversity and hardship in 1914-1914. . 16 expedition.
The practicality and humanity he displayed in the face of adversity may have been no different from those for which Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky was universally acknowledged after Russia’s invasion of his country.
Frank Hurley’s vivid photographs of the expedition helped solidify its legendary status.
Frank Hurley/Royal Geographical Society/Getty Images
Prior to traveling on the Endurance, Shackleton had established himself as a polar explorer after a career in the merchant marine. He had to leave the 1906 Antarctic expedition due to poor health, but in 1908 he led another successful expedition south. His exploits earned him a knighthood, becoming Sir Ernest Shackleton in 1909.
Shackleton’s latest Antarctic mission began with grandiose ambitions. By recruiting 27 men, he hoped to lead some of them to the first ever full land crossing of Antarctica, just a couple of years after Norwegian Roald Amundsen became the first person to reach the South Pole.
Endurance men.
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By December 1914 they were aboard the Endurance, a three-masted ship with a reinforced wooden hull and a steam engine, bound for the White Continent.
Apparently, the ice that year was worse than usual. Although it was summer in Antarctica, the Weddell Sea was still frozen from the winter, and the Endurance struggled to find its way through the open water to get to the point where Shackleton hoped to start. Having foolishly decided to continue, they got stuck.
Efforts were made to free Endurance as the weeks dragged on and the ice occasionally broke, but she remained more or less frozen in place, but kept moving as the ice sheet drifted.
On February 24, 1915, with the onset of winter, the expedition decided to lie low in the hope of breaking free when summer came again.
Ice Confinement
After the ship was abandoned, the people stripped it of everything they could and set up a “dump camp”.
Frank Hurley/Royal Geographical Society/Getty Images
A “land station” was installed on the ice floe. The sled dogs were removed from the ship and placed in “dogs” built of snow. Seals and penguins were hunted to feed the crew and animals.
Endurance’s icy imprisonment during these months will be the first of many serious tests of Shackleton’s leadership skills. Morale was undermined, but “The Boss,” as the crew called him, kept his men engaged in regular forays into the white landscape, football and hockey games, and other scientific and naval work. Social events dedicated to significant calendar days were held. Also raffles.
These days, recorded in the diaries of various crew members and later by Shackleton in his page-turning South! – were also documented on film and photograph by the expedition’s official photographer, Frank Hurley. Hurley’s hauntingly beautiful depictions of a stranded ship and a harsh icy landscape have played a part in the creation of the Shackleton legend over the years. 
At some point, the pressure of the ice pushed the boat, and it began to take on water.
Frank Hurley/Royal Geographical Society/Getty Images
Despite numerous attempts to free Endurance, she remained trapped throughout the dark, stormy winter months. Then, in October, as the ice shifted and grated around it, the boat succumbed to the enormous pressure of the frozen terrain and was forced to roll over on its side, its hull damaged and taking on water. The order was given to abandon the ship.
It was here, according to those who have studied Shackleton’s achievements, that he showed his true leadership character, switching goals from walking around Antarctica to saving himself and his people alive.
Thousands of miles away from civilization, unable to contact the outside world, Shackleton and his crew could only watch as the ice slowly crushed the Endurance, eventually sinking her weeks later. The ship’s captain, Frank Worsley, used his navigational skills to record the Endurance’s final resting place – the coordinates that helped the 2022 mission find it.
floating ice cake
Endurance crash, 28 October 1919.
Royal Geographical Society/Getty Images
Christmas came and went, and the crew drifted all the while on a shrinking piece of ice floe, replenishing the rest of the ship’s supplies, supplemented by penguin and seal prey. They had three small wooden Endurance lifeboats with them, but they had to wait until land was close enough to launch them.
There were disagreements. Not everyone agreed with The Boss’s decision to shoot some of the dogs and “Chippy”, the ship’s cat, in order to relieve himself of the burden of caring for them. But while they waited for the moment to break ashore, Shackleton was saved from dark moments by the resilience of his men.
“There were 28 people on our floating ice block, which was steadily melting under the influence of wind, weather, oncoming ice floes and strong swell,” he wrote in Yuga!
Dragging the lifeboats across the ice was an ordeal for the crew.
Frank Hurley/Royal Geographical Society/Getty Images
“I confess that I felt that the burden of responsibility fell heavily on my shoulders, but, on the other hand, I was inspired and inspired by the attitude of men. Loneliness is a punishment for leadership, but a person who must make decisions helps a lot if he feels that there is no uncertainty in the minds of those who follow him and that his orders will be carried out confidently and in anticipation of success.
By April 11, 1916, when their ice floe broke, Shackleton and the crew of the Endurance were on their way to their lifeboats, spending several days huddled together grimly, battling seasickness, drenched in icy sea water, and tormented by thirst. Progress was slow, but on April 15 they gleefully celebrated the first landing in 18 months on the deserted and uninhabited island of Elephant.
Just a few days later, as his men’s physical and mental health deteriorated, Shackleton and four other men, including Endurance skipper Worsley and carpenter Harry McNish, embarked on the most perilous part of their journey, the 800-mile crossing of rough seas to South Georgia Island, where the whaling the station gave hope for salvation.
They spent 16 days at sea in a 22-foot lifeboat, often saving their lives when giant waves crashed into the boat, but when they eventually landed, their tiny craft was too damaged to go any further, they were no longer on that side. an island, a formidable mountain range between them and the whaling station.
However, Shackleton continued, leaving two crew members ashore and crossing the uncharted hinterland with two others, Worsley and Irish veteran sailor Tom Crean.
Just in time
One of the lifeboats on Elephant Island as Shackleton and four others prepare for the 800-mile journey to Georgia.
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They climbed ridges up to 3,000 feet high, crossing glaciers, edging chasms, and descending a freezing waterfall before, ragged and exhausted, they reached a whaling station in Stromness Bay. There, much to their relief, manager Thorlaf Sørle immediately offered them food, shelter and help.
“Mr Searll’s hospitality knew no bounds,” wrote Shackleton. “He had scarcely allowed us to wait to take off our freezing boots, when he ushered us into his house and seated us in a warm and comfortable room.
“We were not in a position to sit in anyone’s house until we had washed and put on clean clothes, but the kindness of the station master protected even from the unpleasantness of being in the same room with us. Norwegian fashion, and then led us upstairs to the bathroom, where we threw off our rags and dried ourselves luxuriously.”
While Shackleton’s teammates on the other side of South Georgia were quickly rescued, rough seas and ice around Elephant Island thwarted repeated attempts to rescue 22 people, including second-in-command Frank Wild, who were still camped there.
Shackleton refused to give up and successfully reached them on 30 August when they had their last food ration.
Not a single person was lost.
From there they sailed to Chile and eventually arrived at Punta Arenas on September 3, 1916, to receive congratulations and support from all over the world.
Shackleton’s mission was a complete failure, but his success in keeping his crew alive and securing their safe rescue was a triumph that far surpassed any expeditionary glory.