Search for the "Endurance" -- Shackleton's Ship

[Old No7]

If you haven't seen it, the mini-series "Shackleton" about the renowned polar explorer's Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition between 1914 and 1917 is a great series -- it's really well done and true to the real story, which is regarded as "one of the greatest survival stories" of the 20th century.

And now a search has begun for the ship "Endurance" (click here for link) in what is called "The worst portion of the worst sea in the world".

By the way, they also salvaged bottles of the Scotch that was brought on the expedition, which was found unbroken and hidden under the hastily built hut manned by his crew while awaiting their fate or rescue -- they ultimately survived, as did the Scotch! -- and it's been faithfully recreated and is available for sale.

"To bolster team spirit on his Antarctic expedition (Nimrod, 1907), Sir Ernest Shackleton personally ordered 25 cases of Mackinlay’s Rare Old Highland Malt Whisky. In 2007, a century after the expedition, three cases of the perfectly preserved whisky were discovered, frozen into the ice beneath Shackleton’s base camp at Cape Royds. The whisky was excavated and flown to New Zealand where it was carefully thawed by the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust in a purpose-built environment and public gallery at Canterbury Museum."

I'll be watching for news of the Endurance expedition for sure! This is a great story, and the mini-series is best enjoyed with a glass (or two) of Shackleton by your side...

ICE is optional...

Old No7

Shackleton.jpg

Endurance.jpg

Shackleton Scotch.jpg

[Pisgah]

It is reported that when other generals reported to Lincoln that Grant was a drunkard Lincoln replied, "Well, find out what whiskey he's drinking and buy a barrel for every general."

Now, I'm gettin' me some Mackinlay's...

[Drawdown]

Thanks! I read about that long ago, but have forgotten 90%. I will buy that and look forward to it very much!

[2ndovc]

Thanks for posting this. I missed the mini series and will definitely watch it. I've been fascinated with those explorers.

jb

[Oldncrusty]

Thanks. I'm not a Scotch drinker, but I'll see if I can find a bottle of that.

[Drawdown]

I got to give my opinion on this cause it was highly researched long ago! I tried many different brands in my younger days, and my overwhelming favorite, by price, effectiveness, safety, agreement of my system? Jack Daniel's Old #7! I went a lot of years without touching anything, but in later years, I often take 3-5 good swallows straight, chased by 7up, ginger ale, or sprite, few chips in between, only in the late evening hours! Helps a lot of things, never has a bad effect on me! God may correct me on this some day, but in all honesty, all I've been through? I believe I'm a better person when I use it this way. Sometimes I'm sure of it!

[Les Staley]

I’m not a whiskey drinker, but if that whiskey froze, I doubt it would be any good …………

[Grizz]

Thanks for posting this!!! One of the great narratives in world history. To me, the most amazing segment of the story is the EPIC account of sailing James Caird to South Georgia Island to effect the rescue of the crew waiting in Antarctica. their boat was 22 feet long, similar to a lifeboat or whaling boat modified for the trip. This link explains the navigation challenge, and details how sextants are used and what the margins for error were.

https://www.canterburymuseum.com/assets ... dition.pdf

men of iron . . . . are there any in existence any more?

† † †

[Old No7]

I’m not a whiskey drinker, but if that whiskey froze, I doubt it would be any good …………

Actually, I'd read it was 'perfectly preserved'! (but VERY c-c-c-c-c-cold...)

What they're selling today, was distilled to match -- as the original recipe was long gone. They sent several bottles to the distillery to recreate and sell.

I got to give my opinion on this cause it was highly researched long ago! I tried many different brands in my younger days, and my overwhelming favorite, by price, effectiveness, safety, agreement of my system? Jack Daniel's Old #7!

Yes, I LOVE Jack Daniel's for sure, and I'll admit I bought my bottle of Shackleton Scotch based only on the mini-series that I'd seen, and the awesome story that went along with the new issue of Scotch. It's actually pretty good -- but it's not Jack. And I KNOW JACK.

Old No7

[Drawdown]

Old #7, certainly don't blame you, and you've got it on my mind to try myself, IDK yet! But sometimes I'll consider a bottle of Makers Mark or Wild Turkey for old times sake, but when I pull up to window, 1/5 of Jack Please! I never really gave Scotch a fair trial probably!
No doubt we was always kinda prejudice, had to be Ky or TN Bourbon!
Always had an unlimited supply of local made available and some still today, but I never liked it as good, didn't trust it! The favored good stuff stayed kinda sold out, not interested in the new suppliers!
Plenty famous copper kettle tenders around here, I'm sure you'll heard some, most of em gone now.

[765x53]

I’m not a whiskey drinker, but if that whiskey froze, I doubt it would be any good …………

Most vodka drinkers I know, store it in the deep freeze.

[marlinman93]

I watched the first couple episodes on Oregon Public Broadcasting where they recreated the sailing potion of the adventure, but haven't caught the overland hike yet. Not sure if I missed that part, or it hasn't been shown yet?
I'm absolutely amazed Shackleford and the crew did the trip and hit land with such horrible conditions, and distance! Almost as amazing to duplicate it, but they certainly had some advantages the original crew didn't have.

[JimT]

Most vodka drinkers I know, store it in the deep freeze.

Gin also .. makes nice cold gin & tonics ...

[Rusty]

I listened to a book on tape about the expedition once. I don't recall the part about the scotch but I'm not surprised. As I understand it there are two kinds of scotch one is a coastal and one is an inland type. One is smokey the other is not. I tried some once that smokey stuff once and didn't like it at all.

[Grizz]

I watched the first couple episodes on Oregon Public Broadcasting where they recreated the sailing potion of the adventure, but haven't caught the overland hike yet. Not sure if I missed that part, or it hasn't been shown yet?
I'm absolutely amazed Shackleford and the crew did the trip and hit land with such horrible conditions, and distance! Almost as amazing to duplicate it, but they certainly had some advantages the original crew didn't have.

besides which, with global glaciercide and all, i wonder if it is still possible to cross with nails pounded thru the boot soles, and old rope off of a sunken boat, and four friends hallucinating and delirious with fatigue and starvation? do they still make that kind? the picture of Shackleton as he appeared to the whaling station tells some of the story.

i really do hope they find and explore the ship, and leave the bell where it is.

[marlinman93]

I watched the first couple episodes on Oregon Public Broadcasting where they recreated the sailing potion of the adventure, but haven't caught the overland hike yet. Not sure if I missed that part, or it hasn't been shown yet?
I'm absolutely amazed Shackleford and the crew did the trip and hit land with such horrible conditions, and distance! Almost as amazing to duplicate it, but they certainly had some advantages the original crew didn't have.

besides which, with global glaciercide and all, i wonder if it is still possible to cross with nails pounded thru the boot soles, and old rope off of a sunken boat, and four friends hallucinating and delirious with fatigue and starvation? do they still make that kind? the picture of Shackleton as he appeared to the whaling station tells some of the story.

i really do hope they find and explore the ship, and leave the bell where it is.

The answer is yes it's still possible. Since they aired the final episode since this thread started I watched it Monday night and saw they installing long screws through the edge of their boots to make ice boots for the 25 mile trek to the other side of South Georgia Island.
Like Shackleton, they had very similar problems, but also had the knowledge of places where Shackleton had to backtrack when his group ran into sheer drops, so they avoided those errors and did their trip in less time.
I was surprised when they gave the final report, and mentioned Shackleton returning to England and being mostly ignored due to WWI going full on. And even more surprised to hear he returned to South Georgia later and died there from a heart attack at age 53. He was buried there, and his body never returned to England.

[Grizz]

one follow-on story is that several members of Shackleton's crew went to the arctic on an expedition that lost a ship in the same manner as Endurance, but they died because there are no penguins in the arctic . . .

[Old Savage]

Amazing story.

[Grizz]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_voyage_of_the_Karluk

I "think" i "remember" reading a book by this name, and i think i "recall" reading that some of the crew that died were survivors of the Endurance voyage. hope that's correct.

[3leggedturtle]

I watched a 2 hour documentary on him and the expedition. Was anazed and impressed.

[marlinman93]

one follow-on story is that several members of Shackleton's crew went to the arctic on an expedition that lost a ship in the same manner as Endurance, but they died because there are no penguins in the arctic . . .

I would think they'd simply change to hunting seals instead? Plenty of seals at both poles for men to survive on, and of course the important fat needed for people's diet too.

[Grizz]

one follow-on story is that several members of Shackleton's crew went to the arctic on an expedition that lost a ship in the same manner as Endurance, but they died because there are no penguins in the arctic . . .

I would think they'd simply change to hunting seals instead? Plenty of seals at both poles for men to survive on, and of course the important fat needed for people's diet too.

Good point. My understanding is that the seals aren't always available, and i think aren't accessible in the deep pack ice. A lot of men starved to death in Arctic exploration. Whole shiploads perished. I think this also happened in Antarctica. The Shackleton crew ate seals, but the penguins were plentiful and kept them alive two ways, their fat easily rendered to provide stove oil, which heated water to prevent hypothermia, and provided the protein plus carbs they needed. Seal blubber can be rendered too, I think there was not enough of it. Maybe seals are harder to hunt and to gather in abundance. If the men had run out of fuel they would have died.

[Drawdown]

I looked at our Wmart for this, but they didn't have it. They get a lot of A&E stuff, I'll get eventually! I started for something decent to watch on TV, there's about nothing.

[marlinman93]

I looked at our Wmart for this, but they didn't have it. They get a lot of A&E stuff, I'll get eventually! I started for something decent to watch on TV, there's about nothing.

Didn't know this was an A&E program? Since it's on Public Broadcasting I figured it was one of theirs? I think A&E did the Hollywood version, not this documentary.

[Grizz]

https://www.history.com/news/shackleton ... e-survival

I don't know how far they go. I think Canada might have produced something, and Norway of course.

[piller]

Using Sextants is probably a lost skill. If used well, they were amazingly accurate.

[marlinman93]

Using Sextants is probably a lost skill. If used well, they were amazingly accurate.

They confuse me, and even more so on a bobbing boat in rough water where you couldn't get a good fix on the horizon. Or on a dark cloudy day where you don't even see the sky!

[Grizz]

there are thousands of pleasure boats actively cruising around the earth, and some probably high percentage use celestial navigation daily on their voyages. i imagine that navy ships still use it so that they can navigate when all of the gps constellations fall from the sky.....

the math confuses me because i am highly prone to stupid mistakes, like sign errors. i had a cheap sextant in my car last trip to Alaska, and in the inlet where I lived i got a local noon sight that put me in the same inlet. so it is do-able.

one place sextants shine is in coast-wise and river piloting. using the sextant horizontally is the most accurate way to pilot in rivers, far better than a hand bearing compass.

as far as small boat navigation goes, Frank Worsley, Shackleton's navigator is still mentioned with awe among navigators.

but then again, there was a young man who set out from South America in an open dugout canoe, and lost his sextant and charts when the boat rolled over. he decided to do what birds do to navigate, found his bearings and used the sun and stars to locate islands in the South Pacific. he is world famous among serious sailors . . .

there are some good reference books that teach celestial, if anyone wants to read more

[Grizz]

Screenshot 2022-02-13 122522.png

this is a great example of why the wiki is so susceptible to mis-informed "editors", for whom context doesn't appear to exist. anyone spot it?

[piller]

The Spanish Conquistadors had sailing experience, and would have known of sextants. Out on the Staked Plains, they still had to drive stakes into the ground to be able to look back at the stakes to be sure they were going straight and not in a circle. I grew up on the Northern end of the Llano Estacado.

20200612_130553.jpg

This is about 15 miles South of where my parents home was. Typical of what it looks like out there.

[Grizz]

surveyors used sextants. now i see their transits have gps built in.
.
my Grandad was a mining engineer, often working as the superintendent and assayer. one job he did was to connect two vent shafts together, a mile apart, underground. two plumb bobs and some way to fix their location, i am guessing a sextant and chronometer. the two tunnels met in the middle with something like an inch or less between the center lines. i did not get any of that kind of precision in my download. but i love using his plumb.

[Scrumbag]

You have to admire Shackleton, he got everybody home. Most polar explorers of that era got a lot of people killed...

[Shrapnel]

Shackleton’s expedition in 1914 is a singular feat of survival unmatched by any other expedition by any human on earth, other than the Corps of Discovery from 1804-1806. The shear determination and acts of survival with no loss of life, is absolutely incredible.

Even compared to Apollo 13, I consider the story of their survival so incredible, it is hard to imagine the hardships they endured for 2 years in the Antarctic.

There is a documentary on the 1914 expedition, with actual film from that expedition, that will amaze you as to their survival of unbelievable odds against it.

[Grizz]

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Screenshot 2022-02-07 092433.png

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Screenshot (12609).png

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here is the track from the logbook, and the method by which the sun sights translated into the fixes.

this is among other things a feat of professionalism and teamwork in the leadership, and confidence in the progression of the dead reckoning. lots of moving parts

[stretch]

as far as small boat navigation goes, Frank Worsley, Shackleton's navigator is still mentioned with awe among navigators.

As well he should be.

Shackleton was an amazing leader. 5 Dec. 1914 to 10 May 1916. Ship crushed, hauled whaleboats overland for hundreds
of miles, and then sailed to a tiny speck of an island in the Southern Ocean - one of the most inhospitable maritime environments
on earth - crossed a mountain range in the snow with no alpine equipment and lost not a single man - including a stowaway!
A fantastic achievement overshadowed by WWI.

One of the requirements of those chosen for the expedition was that they had to be able to sing. No radio, TV, records, etc. in
those days - Shackleton made sure that his men could keep their morale up.

-Stretch

[Scrumbag]

Something on Frank Worsley here: https://youtu.be/5OBsHnS5S4U

[Grizz]

Something on Frank Worsley here: https://youtu.be/5OBsHnS5S4U

great link. thanks

[marlinman93]

Did anyone catch the documentary on Adolphus Greely expedition to the North Pole in 1901 last night on Public Television? A group including Greeley's great-great grandson started at his base near the North Pole, and covered the Greeley Expedition's route to walk, and boat out of the North Pole. The original expedition was stranded at the North Pole for 3 years when two different ships destined to resupply the group quit, and returned to the US instead of leaving supplies for Greely's group.
It was a interesting documentary, and I learned a lot about the original expedition I wasn't aware of.

[Grizz]

I missed that one. pls post a link if it shows up on internet video. thanks