Ernest Shackleton and his crew set out on an expedition in 1914 with the goal of a completing a trans-antarctic crossing.
Their expedition fell apart when their ship, Endurance, became frozen within an ice floe in the Weddell Sea. They spent the winter camping on the ice, and held hope that the ship would become free in the spring.
When spring rolled round, the breaking of the ice put immense pressure on the ship’s hull, and the boat was lost.
Shackleton and his crew spent two months on a floating pack of ice in the hopes they’d be carried to an island 250kms away. Unable to reach this island, they hopped into lifeboats, and travelled for 5 days to arrive at Elephant Island; an inhospitable place far away from any shipping routes.
Shackleton then took 5 of his men, and only 4-weeks worth of food, and set sail for South Georgia; knowing that if they didn’t make it, they and crew left on Elephant island were all likely to perish.
Eventually, Shackleton made it to South Georgia, and after an almost 2 year ordeal, his men were rescued.
Why do I write all this? Because it puts the recent discovery of the sunken Endurance into perspective. Marine archaeologists recently found the ship in the Weddell Sea at a depth of 3,000 metres, and they’re immensely excited.
“Without any exaggeration this is the finest wooden shipwreck I have ever seen – by far. It is upright, well proud of the seabed, intact, and in a brilliant state of preservation,” said marine archaeologist Mensun Bound
The video imagery of the sunken wreck is breathtaking! Enjoy!