An expedition searching for Ernest Shackleton’s lost ship found itself stuck in the same piece of ice where Endurance sank more than a century ago.
SA Agulhas II crashed after the mercury dropped to -10C at the same spot in the Wedel Sea where Shackleton’s ship was thought to have last been seen in 1915.
But fortunately, thanks to technological advances such as mechanical cranes, engine power and an aviation fuel box, the crew managed to free the ship by Tuesday night.
This was said by historian Dan Snow, who is on board the SA Agulhas II The times“Smart people told me along the way, ‘How do you know you’re not going to get on the ice like Shackleton?’
“I said, ‘Don’t worry about it.’ We have all the technology. “But now we’re frozen.”
SA Agulhas II (photo file above) crashed after the mercury dropped to -10C at the same spot in the Wedell Sea where Shackleton’s ship was thought to have last been seen in 1915.
Endurance is one of two ships used by the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914-1917, which hopes to make the first land crossing in Antarctica. Pictured: A photograph of a ship stranded in packed ice, taken in October 1915, a few weeks before sinking
Mr Snow also posted a video on social media showing the crew’s efforts to free the ship with a crane to turn a large box of helicopter fuel back and forth.
Mensun Bound, the expedition’s director, said: “Archeology was never meant to be like that.
“We are stuck and I’m cold and I want to go home. This is not a good thing.
The research ship previously participated in the Wedel Marine Expedition in 2019, where it managed to reach the rough location of the wreckage, yet he did not find it.
Endurance is one of two ships used by the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914-1917, which hopes to make the first land crossing of Antarctica.
Carrying an expeditionary crew of 28, the 144-foot-long Endurance was a three-masted schooner built solidly for polar water operations.
In order to land in Vahsel Bay, the ship crashed into packed ice in the Wedel Sea on January 18, 1915 – where she and her crew would remain for many months.
At the end of October, however, the drop in temperature from 42 ° F to -14 ° F led to the ice pack constantly crushing Endurance, which finally sank on November 21, 1915.
Carrying an expeditionary crew of 28, the 144-foot-long Endurance was a three-masted schooner built solidly for polar water operations. Pictured: Endurance, stuck in thick ice, counting heavily on the gate
Fortunately, thanks to technological advances such as mechanical cranes, engine power and an aviation fuel box, the crew managed to free the ship by Tuesday night. Pictured: SA Agulhas II, the expedition’s ice-breaking polar research ship, seen here in 2019.
The crew made their way across the ice to Elephant Island, where most remained while Shackleton and five others sailed in an open boat to South Georgia for help.
On board the steam tug Yelcho – lent to him by the Chilean Navy – Shackleton managed to return to save the rest of his crew on August 30, 1916.
Part of the preparations undertaken before the launch of the expedition this month were marine trials, in which the so-called SAAB Sabertooth hybrid underwater deepwater search engines were deployed and tested.
According to marine archaeologists, these state-of-the-art drones are able to follow a pre-programmed course and can transmit sensor data and real-time images to the surface via optical cable.
The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust said one of the key objectives of the Endurance22 expedition was “to bring the history of Shackleton, its ship and its crew to a new and younger audience”.
It adds: “The challenges of research and development that are fundamental to our understanding of climate change are part of this story.”
To that end, he has teamed up with History Hit – the media service co-founded by British historian Dan Snow – and plans to broadcast footage of the expedition on several digital channels and social media platforms.
Mr Snow, who serves as creative director of History Hit, said: “Hunting for Shackleton’s remains will be the greatest story in the world of history in 2022.
“As a partner operator, we will be able to reach tens of millions of fans of history around the world, in real time.
“We will tell the story of Shackleton and this expedition to find his lost ship like never before.”
Sir Ernest Shackleton: Famous British Antarctic adventurer
Sir Ernest Shackleton during the 1908 expedition to Antarctica
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton was a British Antarctic explorer who led three expeditions to the frozen continent.
It was at the heart of a period in history that later became known as the “heroic age of Antarctic exploration.”
Born in Ireland, Shackleton moved to London with his family when he was 10 and first experienced the polar climate as an officer in Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s 1901-1904 expedition.
He was sent home earlier than this expedition after working in poor health, which was attributed to scurvy. New research shows he had beriberi.
During Nimrod’s 1907-1909 expedition, Shackleton and his companions created a new record of the farthest south latitude, 88 degrees south.
The disaster befell his next expedition, the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914-1917, when the Endurance ship was trapped in packed ice.
The crew escaped by launching lifeboats and reaching nearby islands, traveling across stormy oceans 830 miles away.
He returned to Antarctica for the last time in 1921 with the Shackleton-Rouet expedition, but died of a heart attack on January 5, 1922, while his ship was moored in South Georgia.
Although Shackleton is best known for his research, his legacy is also one of the opportunities for a significant amount of research.
His expeditions helped to conduct comprehensive scientific and geographical studies, including the first studies of the interior of Antarctica and the effective location of the Magnetic South Pole.
“Shackleton is an iconic figure in Antarctic history with the most incredible legacy of courage and effort,” said Camilla Nickel, CEO of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust.
– But sometimes we ignore the contribution of his expeditions to science.
“To this day, Antarctica is a major barometer of climate change at the heart of climate science.
“We preserve Shackleton’s legacy to inspire the next generation of pioneering scientists and researchers.”