Endurance Found

[Steam Flyer]

I've recently made the decision to get a lot smarter on the expedition.  Any Anarchists have recommendations on what book(s) I should read to enlighten me on this subject?

Shackleton's own book "SOUTH" is a very good, it's not written in a polished style but it gives a wealth of detail plus his own thinking. His image as a tough leader, able to pull miracles out of his hat, was really his ability to inspire his men. Of course he was also incredibly tough physically but he also paid a price, dead at 48.

Worsley's own book, "Shackleton's Boat Journey" is my other recommendation. He fast-forwards the story to the point where Endurance has sunk, they're on the ice, they're trying to figure a way out of this, and then details the boat journey from Elephant Island and across South Georgie Island. He briefly talks about their reception at the whaling station there in a hilarious fashion, and the efforts to get rescue to the men left on Elephant Island.

- DSK

 

[teamvmg]

Fabulous discovery!

Looking forward to learning more about the wreck and what it can tell us about Shackleton's expedition.

Not Much! The crew sat there watching it die for months, they didn't have much else to do but document stuff!

 

[PurpleOnion]

Any Shackleton fan or anyone with an interest in the story really needs to read up on the Endurance skipper Frank Worsley. It'll give you another perspective on ES and the incredible expedition. In an epic adventure of Heroics,  Worsley was/is the understated hero...the only man on the expedition with real Navigation skills, the only man with small boat skills...think about that for a second!! Now re-think the story....do yourself a favour. It's a ripping yarn!

I listened to a 4 or 5 part podcast recently from some guy who was going down to join the effort to find Endurance.  While only one perspective, the entire podcast was humbling.  What Worsley, Tom Crean, and the others undertook, endured, and managed to overcome is hard to overstate. Many of them, like Worsley and Crean just went on with life in a humble manner. Not to dump on "kids these days", but I don't think many could handle that ordeal even with modern gear let alone what these guys had available to them. Presumably the story is told with some after the fact rationalization for the decisions made, but the decision making and guts it took to execute in those conditions is awe inspiring.  Worsley's skills were phenomenal and managed to get them in their 22 foot lifeboat to their target destination in some of the most inhospitable conditions. Something that a well fed, well rested, well equipped crew with GPS and all other conveniences would have a hard time doing.

As I said, it's humbling.

 

[robtoujours]

Well this just popped up on the local equivalent of Craigslist. 
 

Replica of the James Caird .. as a bar. Price negotiable

 

[Steam Flyer]

A good replica would have ice in the rigging and uncomfortable ballast stones

Love the bar, though!

- DSK

 

[Couta]

I listened to a 4 or 5 part podcast recently from some guy who was going down to join the effort to find Endurance.  While only one perspective, the entire podcast was humbling.  What Worsley, Tom Crean, and the others undertook, endured, and managed to overcome is hard to overstate. Many of them, like Worsley and Crean just went on with life in a humble manner. Not to dump on "kids these days", but I don't think many could handle that ordeal even with modern gear let alone what these guys had available to them. Presumably the story is told with some after the fact rationalization for the decisions made, but the decision making and guts it took to execute in those conditions is awe inspiring.  Worsley's skills were phenomenal and managed to get them in their 22 foot lifeboat to their target destination in some of the most inhospitable conditions. Something that a well fed, well rested, well equipped crew with GPS and all other conveniences would have a hard time doing.

As I said, it's humbling.

There was a re-enactment TV series done recently of just the sea voyage (I have the book too...somewhere!) where almost all the details were replicated....misery and suffering were epic...and of course, the people involved KNEW they had safety support at arms length....and all were experienced adventurers and in peak condition....despite those advantages, several were evacuated because of medical issues (frostbite included). I might have to fish it out and give it a re-read. Humbling is a great description!

https://www.timjarvis.org/basecamp/shackleton-epic-expedition/

Here's an eye opening page-turner that I believe puts Worsley at the centre of the journey...for every good reason. Having read pretty much everything previously published...I found this one answered a lot of history's question...Like "why did the expedition proceed even when every ship returning from antarctic waters had reported extraordinary, unprecedented seas ice conditions?" I thoroughly commend it.

 https://www.abebooks.com/9780889626782/Shackletons-Captain-Biography-Frank-Worsley-0889626782/plp

 

[mikewof]

Wow, just wow!

Seems to well preserved, like they could pluck it up somehow from 10,000 feet and put it into a museum. Remarkable, those anemones in the photo, or whatever those are, I wouldn't have imagined there would be any life at all at that depth and in water that cold.

 

[Talchotali]

Courtesy Marine Executive:

UK Plans to Protect Wreck of Shackleton’s Endurance​

​

(photo courtesy of Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust and National Geographic)
PUBLISHED NOV 25, 2022 2:57 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE




The debate continues on how to handle Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship, Endurance, which was located earlier this year in the icy waters of the Weddell Sea in Antarctica. A British charity organization revealed work has begun to develop a conservation management plan for the wreck.

Amidst opposing views from archaeologists and Shackleton’s family on the fate of the wreck sitting some nearly 10,000 feet on the seabed of Weddell Sea, the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) announced that it is partnering with Historic England to devise a plan to preserve the wreck due to its unique historical significance.

The objective of the plan will be to communicate the importance of the site, identify the unique challenges and opportunities in conserving the wreck and recommend measures and guidance to secure its protection. The plan, which has been commissioned by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, will take two years to develop and will be presented to the Committee for Environmental Protection at the annual Antarctic Treaty Consultative meeting.

The initiative to protect and preserve the wreck of Endurance, which was located by a team of researchers in March this year, comes weeks after one of the archaeologists in the team said that failure to lift the ship from the bottom of the sea will result in its decaying out of existence. According to Mensun Bound, leaving the vessel on the seabed will lead to decaying due to its organic nature while rogue organizations and states could access the site and plunder the ship’s priceless historical artifacts.

The explorer’s family, led by granddaughter Alexandra Shackleton, has however maintained the wreck should remain in its current resting place. The exploration team reported that they had discovered the vessel well preserved in the Weddell Sea in March, one hundred years to the day after the burial of Shackleton at Grytviken, South Georgia.

The wreck of Endurance, the ship used by Shackleton during his 1914-16 Antarctic Expedition, was designated as a protected historic site and monument under the Antarctic Treaty System in 2019. That was the first step to protect the ship meaning that while the wreck can be surveyed and filmed, the treaty says it cannot be touched or disturbed in any way.

“The remarkable story of the Endurance is universally known and the ship’s association with Shackleton gives it global significance. Its story is one of the greatest feats of endeavor and survival ever told. Now the location is known, it is our responsibility to make sure that Endurance is protected,” said Camilla Nichol, UKAHT CEO.

She added the aim to protect the wreck is to ensure that future human activity serves only to benefit and protect the Endurance. She said the goal is to ensure that the stories associated with the ship continue to inspire and inform humanity in the future.

Endurance, a 144-foot-long wooden three-masted barquentine built in Norway, was trapped in ice in the Weddell Sea area over a century ago when Shackleton and his expedition set out to achieve the first land crossing of Antarctica from the Weddell Sea via the South Pole to the Ross Sea. The vessel was trapped in the ice in January 1915, crushed, and sank 10 months later. Shackleton made a daring trip in an open boat to reach South Georgia ensuring that his 27-member crew was rescued.

“This is a unique opportunity to work on an internationally important shipwreck, which captured the attention of the world when it was discovered earlier this year deep in the Weddell Sea. We look forward to devising a plan to ensure its protection for future generations,” said Duncan Wilson, Historic England CEO.

UKAHT is a charity responsible for the conservation of heritage sites in Antarctica while Historic England is a public body that champions and protects England’s historic places, including shipwrecks in waters around the country.

 

[Zonker]

Good luck to them. Recovery of a crushed wooden ship from 10,000 ft in Antarctic waters. Going to need a huge barrel of $$$. Because it's not steel and very deep, nobody will plunder it for scrap value (like some WWII warships in the Pacific - they have disappeared).

while rogue organizations and states could access the site and plunder the ship’s priceless historical artifacts.

Again, 10,000 ft is non-trivial and so is the location. I'm not sure how priceless an old ship's compass or stove might be.

 

[mckenzie.keith]

Good luck to them. Recovery of a crushed wooden ship from 10,000 ft in Antarctic waters. Going to need a huge barrel of $$$. Because it's not steel and very deep, nobody will plunder it for scrap value (like some WWII warships in the Pacific - they have disappeared).

Again, 10,000 ft is non-trivial and so is the location. I'm not sure how priceless an old ship's compass or stove might be.

Yeah. It has a pretty great security system already.

 

[mckenzie.keith]

Yeah. It has a pretty great security system already.

Not like it is a spanish galleon.

 

[Bristol-Cruiser]

“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.”

Bought a shirt with that on it on a visit to a Chilean weather station (and tourist shop) on the Antarctic Peninsula.

 

[Steam Flyer]

Good luck to them. Recovery of a crushed wooden ship from 10,000 ft in Antarctic waters. Going to need a huge barrel of $$$. Because it's not steel and very deep, nobody will plunder it for scrap value (like some WWII warships in the Pacific - they have disappeared).

Again, 10,000 ft is non-trivial and so is the location. I'm not sure how priceless an old ship's compass or stove might be.

Some of Shackleton's single malt Scotch might be nice.

 

[floater]

they surely removed all the good stuff while it was still on the ice.

 

[White Lightning2]

You never drink good scotch on ice....



WL

 

[Monkey]

I ran into one of my best friends growing up over Thanksgiving weekend. He was onboard the ship when they found Endurance. Apparently they had to reshoot an awful lot of scenes after they found her to make the documentary a little more family friendly.

 

[Liquid]

No bodies were left onboard... Isn't it just a well preserved empty, crushed and sunken ship?

Solution: scan the fuck out of it with remote subs and 3D print a replica for profit purposes.

 

[Foredeck Shuffle]

The initiative to protect and preserve the wreck of Endurance, which was located by a team of researchers in March this year, comes weeks after one of the archaeologists in the team said that failure to lift the ship from the bottom of the sea will result in its decaying out of existence. According to Mensun Bound, leaving the vessel on the seabed will lead to decaying due to its organic nature while rogue organizations and states could access the site and plunder the ship’s priceless historical artifacts.

Someone does not understand what happens to wood after a century of salt intrusion at the wood's cellular level. Pull that boat and even after a decade of living in a desalination bath it will still not be able to be shown without damage. Cannot remember the name of the Danish ship that was put on display but even with the latest technology for conservation the archeologists in charge of the display have admitted that the ship is slowly tearing itself apart. The desalination process eliminates salt crystals but cannot stop the various acids that have formed in the wood, iron, and other materials that will slowly leach over time after even minimal exposure, destroying much of the artifact over time.

The best course of action would be to 3d-scan, measure, photograph, and film the ship. Take every item determined to be an important artifact, take small and large samples of the ship deemed historically important and/or important due to its general cultural value, such as a king plank, the rudder, a mast, some of the internal carpentry, dendrite samples from different parts of the structure to date the wood used, then move on. That boat is immensely interesting to history but sitting 10,000ft for a century in salt water has left a permanent mark on every material the ship was made from and cannot be reversed.

 

[Liquid]

The best course of action would be to 3d-scan, measure, photograph, and film the ship.

I think there's an echo?

 

[pqbon]

For an example of what needs to be done to a wooden ship brought out of the depths:

Conservation of the Mary Rose

Discover the story behind one of the largest conservation projects ever undertaken!

maryrose.org

 

[Jules]

According to Mensun Bound, leaving the vessel on the seabed will lead to decaying due to its organic nature while rogue organizations and states could access the site and plunder the ship’s priceless historical artifacts.

The ship is now in near perfect condition, thanks in part to the absence of marine wood-boring worms in that part of the sea, so the initial decision was to leave it.

But suddenly the ship is going to start decaying so we have to save it?

I get the problem with "rogue organizations" profiting. But this changed attitude makes me wonder if the motive behind recovering the ship isn't the same.