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Shackleton’s Ill-Fated Ship ‘Endurance’ has Been Found 107 Years Later
It is resting deep in the Antarctic waters, virtually intact, and it will be left untouched.
The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, the last expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. An introduction full of romance, excitement, and adventure to one of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s missions to try to reach the South Pole.
The Irish-Anglo explorer pushed the limits of Antarctic exploration. Ever active, his passion for exploration and call to reaching the South Pole had been once again roused after Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen’s party succeeded in the task on 14 December 1911.
PREPARATIONS
Preparations for the new adventure were detailed and articulated, between finding financial support, careful studying and planning of the journey, and finding the right crew. Also, two ships, which were purchased in February 1914, Aurora and Polaris. He renamed Polaris to Endurance, after his family motto “By endurance we conquer.”
Endurance was a barquentine, a three-masted sailing vessel designed and built by a specialized shipbuilding and engineering firm headquartered in Norway. The design did consider the dangers of the ship being stuck in ice, but the…
