[HN Gopher] Endurance: Shackleton's lost ship is found in Antarctic
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Endurance: Shackleton's lost ship is found in Antarctic
Author : 0xedb
Score : 227 points
Date : 2022-03-09 07:30 UTC (15 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.bbc.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.bbc.com)
| pg_bot wrote:
| "For scientific discovery give me Scott; for speed and efficiency
| of travel give me Amundsen; but when disaster strikes and all
| hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton." -
| Sir Raymond Priestly, Antarctic Explorer and Geologist.
|
| For those who don't know about this expedition, NatGeo has a good
| video about it on youtube.
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgh_77TtX5I
| belter wrote:
| It's incredibly well preserved: https://youtu.be/eB7ApbS2P7o
| Naga wrote:
| This has been an exciting few years for exploration fans, between
| the discovery of the Franklin Expedition's ships and this!
| aborsy wrote:
| The name Endurance is apt, given that it's so well preserved
| after over a century!
| ygra wrote:
| From Wikipedia about the ship:
|
| > Every detail of her construction had been scrupulously
| planned to ensure maximum durability: for example, every joint
| and fitting was cross-braced for maximum strength.
|
| > ...
|
| > Though her hull looked from the outside like that of any
| other vessel of a comparable size, it was not. She was designed
| for polar conditions with a very sturdy construction. Her keel
| members were four pieces of solid oak, one above the other,
| adding up to a thickness of 85 inches (2,200 mm), while its
| sides were between 30 inches (760 mm) and 18 inches (460 mm)
| thick, with twice as many frames as normal and the frames being
| of double thickness. She was built of planks of oak and
| Norwegian fir up to 30 inches (760 mm) thick, sheathed in
| greenheart, an exceptionally strong and heavy wood. The bow,
| which would meet the ice head-on, had been given special
| attention. Each timber had been made from a single oak tree
| chosen for its shape so that its natural shape followed the
| curve of the ship's design. When put together, these pieces had
| a thickness of 52 inches (1,300 mm).
|
| So I guess if you build a ship that way for that purpose, it
| probably will survive for quite a while relatively unscathed
| (apart from that it has been crushed a bit by the ice).
| KarlKemp wrote:
| I believe what really matters in cases like this is that wood
| doesn't degrade underwater, and that there is very little
| movement of water at the spot.
| ygra wrote:
| Maybe the initial picture most of us have regarding ship
| wrecks is ships built from metal, which rust and fall apart
| significantly easier when submerged.
| DougMellon wrote:
| > The wreck itself is a designated monument under the
| international Antarctic Treaty and must not be disturbed in any
| way.
|
| Does this prevent them from entering Shackleton's cabin? With the
| amazing condition this ship has remained in, I wonder what
| interesting things they would find in there.
| kitd wrote:
| IIRC all the interesting stuff had been removed from the ship
| already before it went down. But yes, a peek around inside
| would be interesting anyway.
| EdwardDiego wrote:
| I dunno, I know that people have been preserving relics from
| polar expedition huts, Scott's and Shackleton's for example.
|
| (You can even buy a whisky based on the whisky they found
| stashed at Shackleton's Hut): https://nzaht.org/shackletons-
| whisky/
| hef19898 wrote:
| Apparently some of the gas canisters and canned food from
| Scotts expedition are still good, and lying around in the ice
| and snow.
| cconcepts wrote:
| Interesting to me that Shackelton and the Endurance keep popping
| up on HN. I happened to read "South" some years ago and it had a
| big impact on me as someone who loves the outdoors.
|
| I just didn't expect it to keep popping up in a technology
| focussed community. Yet I can see the appeal. The sheer
| determination of Shackelton and crew should be inspiring to all
| people.
| EdwardDiego wrote:
| Shackleton is the polar explorer I respect the most, mainly for
| the fact that no-one had to walk heroically to their deaths in a
| blizzard on any of his expeditions.
|
| Even if you think Erebus shouldn't have been there, the efforts
| to keep everyone alive get a big thumps up from me.
|
| (Also, his ponies did way better than Scott's, Scott rejected
| what worked for Shackleton:
| https://captainantarctica.com.au/meat-eating-horses-of-antar...)
| sendfoods wrote:
| any books you can recommend on historical polar expeditions?
| troyvit wrote:
| Another fiction is The Terror:
| https://www.librarything.com/work/1499548
| rjsw wrote:
| Try "The Worst Journey in the World" [1], there are eBook
| links from the wiki page.
|
| [1]
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Worst_Journey_in_the_World
| Bayart wrote:
| Although it's a fictional novel, I really like _The
| Adventures of Captain Hatteras_.
| EdwardDiego wrote:
| I've just purchased Ranulph Fiennes' biography of Shackleton
| and definitely recommend that one, also I really enjoyed
| Endurance by Alfred Lansing, also about Shackleton's
| expedition.
|
| Fiennes' also wrote a good book about Amundsen and Scott,
| Race to the Pole.
|
| I've heard good things about "Mawson's Will" by Lennard
| Bickel.
|
| (I tend to focus on Antarctica due to its proximity and the
| historical connections to Antarctic exploration in my area)
| eitland wrote:
| > Shackleton is the polar explorer I respect the most, mainly
| for the fact that no-one had to walk heroically to their deaths
| in a blizzard on any of his expeditions.
|
| Isn't this true for Nansen as well?
| hef19898 wrote:
| Shackleton is right up there with Nansen and Amundsen.
| Zickzack wrote:
| Amundsen lost his life trying to help Umberto Nobile and
| Nobile's crew.
| mellosouls wrote:
| For those who can access it, the Channel 4 drama with Kenneth
| Branagh is still available for free:
|
| https://www.channel4.com/programmes/shackleton/on-demand/308...
|
| https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0272839/
| s_dev wrote:
| The Liam Neeson narrated documentary is the best one covering
| this story.
|
| It's on YouTube and well worth a watch on a slow Sunday.
| aliswe wrote:
| link?
| Tronno wrote:
| The Endurance (2000):
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr5r3qV78hI
| dang wrote:
| Also https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/09/climate/endurance-
| wreck-f...
|
| (via https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30613319, but no
| comments there)
| [deleted]
| iammiles wrote:
| For anyone who hasn't read it, Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible
| Voyage, by Alfred Lansing is a well-written account of the
| expedition story.
| telesilla wrote:
| Also in Spanish a very lovely, ambitious undertaking in graphic
| novel form:
|
| https://www.luisbustos.es/Endurance
| martopix wrote:
| I came here to say the same. Wonderful book, historically
| accurate but reads like an adventure novel.
| davidjohnstone wrote:
| I read this a month ago. Excellent book. Incredible story.
| nbap wrote:
| I second that.
| ls65536 wrote:
| Two more I would recommend in addition to Lansing's that focus
| more on different specific aspects of that expedition are
| "Shackleton's Boat Journey" by Frank Worsley (who served as
| captain of Endurance) and "Shackleton's Heroes: The Epic Story
| of the Men Who Kept the Endurance Expedition Alive" by Wilson
| McOrist.
|
| I think anyone with an interest in sailing or maritime
| navigation will appreciate Worsley's first-hand account of the
| crossing from Elephant Island to South Georgia in a modified
| lifeboat[0]. Worsley covers the subsequent crossing of South
| Georgia's mountainous interior in great detail as well.
|
| And often left out from popular accounts is mention of the Ross
| Sea Party[1], who endured terrible conditions on the other side
| of the Antarctic continent to ensure that Shackleton and his
| crew would have had enough supplies to survive the final
| stretches coming from the other side of the continent.
|
| [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_of_the_James_Caird
|
| [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Sea_party
| bacon_waffle wrote:
| "Shackleton's Forgotten Men" is a good book on the Ross Sea
| Party. I've spent a bit of time on the Ice and done some
| Southern Ocean sailing (neither in the same league as these
| early explorers, obviously), and think their story is at
| least on par with the Endurance side's.
|
| "Shackleton's Argonauts" by Frank Hurley (photographer of
| Endurance) is another good one if you can find a copy.
| robin_reala wrote:
| There's also _South!_ , an account of his voyage written by the
| man himself. It's public domain now:
| https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/ernest-shackleton/south
| telesilla wrote:
| I recommend the 15 hour audio book for long travels
| https://naxosaudiobooks.com/south-unabridged/
| sandgiant wrote:
| The audiobook edition read by Simon Prebble is one of the best
| I've heard.
| noufalibrahim wrote:
| I'm glad someone mentioned this. It's an excellent narration
| of an excellent book.
|
| I've been reading it to my son. It's got so many lessons on
| leadership, grit, foresight, courage etc. Very inspiring.
|
| One thing that struck me was how sharp a judge of character
| Shackleton was. He picked the members of his crew after short
| or no interviews and was vindicated in his all his
| selections. That must have been a skill learned from time in
| the real world. Something which might be scorned on today for
| being biased or something else like that.
| nerfhammer wrote:
| And if you don't have the appetite for a whole book yet, the
| wikipedia article on the subject is quite well done
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Trans-Antarctic_Exped...
| raverbashing wrote:
| > "Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold,
| long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour
| and recognition in event of success."
|
| Well, he wasn't wrong. Reminds me of some job openings.
| PedroBatista wrote:
| Minus the last phrase.
| hef19898 wrote:
| It shows that "radical" endeavors and orgs have an easier
| way to find the right set of peoples. And I like the total
| bluntness of the job offering.
| eesmith wrote:
| Followed by: "Searches for the original advertisement have
| proved unsuccessful, and the story is generally regarded as
| apocryphal."
| jupp0r wrote:
| Maximum age: 25. 10 years of direct polar exploration
| experience required, 20 years of direct polar exploration
| experience strongly preferred.
| ankaAr wrote:
| I come from a sailors family (every male in the family served
| some years in the Navy, not my uncle, not me -IT Manager). I
| remember my grandpha telling me the Endurance story, how
| Shackleton keep being THE Captain, saving his people from a
| clearly death.
|
| I still have in my mind the marvelous pictures taken by Frank
| Hurley, the night ones are impressive.
|
| I still have the book from Alfred Lansing, Endurance. It shows
| you how hard was the life after the Endurance was trapped in ice,
| and how they manage to survive in one of the worst climates.
|
| Good thing the endurance will be there, protected and resting
| from the hard journey.
| belorn wrote:
| It is pretty amazing how they managed to locate the wreck.
| Searching by sonar is a very time consuming activity and takes
| ages just to scan a very small area, with the added issues of
| interpreting the readings. I wonder what clues they had to narrow
| down the search area.
| ls65536 wrote:
| "Endurance was found just over four nautical miles (7.5km) and
| roughly southward of Frank Worsley's famous sinking position
| (68deg39'30" South; 52deg26'30" West)." [0]
|
| Truly a testament to the skill of Frank Worsley, Endurance's
| captain, whose navigation was also essential in successfully
| reaching South Georgia in a modified lifeboat [1], returning
| themselves to civilization and calling for help to rescue the
| rest of Shackleton's men waiting on Elephant Island.
|
| [0] https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-60654016
|
| [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_of_the_James_Caird
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