7 ms·

Endurance: Shackleton's lost ship is found in Antarctic

343 points by 0xedb 5y ago

vic-traill 5y ago
Well, Shackleton must have been a heck of a guy to live the life he lived. On the Endurance expedition, however, his treatment of Harry 'Chippy' McNish [0], who performed the modifications to the lifeboat James Caird, which was then used to travel across open sea to travel to South Georgia island, and the crew's subsequent rescue, was not a proud moment for Shackleton. In particular, his lack of recommendation regarding the Polar Medal for McNish looks particularly petty in hindsight. But I wasn't there, and I suspect that both Shackleton and McNish were better men than I. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_McNish https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_McNish
aborsy 5y ago
The name Endurance is apt, given that it’s so well preserved after over a century!
- ygra 5y ago
  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 5y ago
    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 5y ago
      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.
    - notahacker 5y ago
      The main thing is how little is growing on it, since that makes invariably wrecks look unrecognisable, and usually hastens their degradation (the Titanic isn't spectacularly rusting because it's sat in water with very low oxygen contect, it's spectacularly rusting because there's a microbe feeding on it. The well preserved wooden wrecks tend to be submerged in mud or in zones with relatively little life too)
DougMellon 5y ago
> 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 5y ago
  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 5y ago
  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/ https://nzaht.org/shackletons-whisky/
  - hef19898 5y ago
    Apparently some of the gas canisters and canned food from Scotts expedition are still good, and lying around in the ice and snow.
iammiles 5y ago
For anyone who hasn't read it, Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, by Alfred Lansing is a well-written account of the expedition story.
- nerfhammer 5y ago
  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_Expedition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Trans-Antarctic_Exped...
  - raverbashing 5y ago
    > "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 5y ago
      Minus the last phrase.
    - hef19898 5y ago
      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.
      - mindcrime 5y ago
        > And I like the total bluntness of the job offering. It's right up there with: You'll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. I have only done this once before. SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED.
    - eesmith 5y ago
      Followed by: "Searches for the original advertisement have proved unsuccessful, and the story is generally regarded as apocryphal."
pg_bot 5y ago
“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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgh_77TtX5I
cconcepts 5y ago
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.
- labster 5y ago
  A lot of us software devs can relate to Shackleton, because we have also been on a death march.
  - dan-robertson 5y ago
    But Shackleton somehow avoided death marches. Did you mean Scott?
EdwardDiego 5y ago
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-antarctica/ https://captainantarctica.com.au/meat-eating-horses-of-antar...)
- eitland 5y ago
  > 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 5y ago
    Shackleton is right up there with Nansen and Amundsen.
    - Zickzack 5y ago
      Amundsen lost his life trying to help Umberto Nobile and Nobile's crew.
- sendfoods 5y ago
  any books you can recommend on historical polar expeditions?
  - rjsw 5y ago
    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 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Worst_Journey_in_the_World
    - ncmncm 5y ago
s_dev 5y ago
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 5y ago
  link?
  - Tronno 5y ago
    The Endurance (2000): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr5r3qV78hI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr5r3qV78hI
    - s_dev 5y ago
      Thankyou
mellosouls 5y ago
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/30829-001 https://www.channel4.com/programmes/shackleton/on-demand/308... https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0272839/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0272839/
ankaAr 5y ago
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.
Naga 5y ago
This has been an exciting few years for exploration fans, between the discovery of the Franklin Expedition's ships and this!
belorn 5y ago
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 5y ago
  "Endurance was found just over four nautical miles (7.5km) and roughly southward of Frank Worsley's famous sinking position (68°39'30" South; 52°26'30" 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 https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-60654016 [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_of_the_James_Caird https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_of_the_James_Caird
belter 5y ago
It's incredibly well preserved: https://youtu.be/eB7ApbS2P7o https://youtu.be/eB7ApbS2P7o
dang 5y ago
Also https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/09/climate/endurance-wreck-found-shackleton.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/09/climate/endurance-wreck-f... (via https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30613319 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30613319, but no comments there)
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
lqet 5y ago
I remember watching a TV documentary about the Endurance expedition 10 years ago and being flabbergasted. First, the Endurance is trapped by ice for half a year. Then she is crushed by the ice, and the crew camps on the ice. Then they start a 500 km march, over the ice, carrying the lifeboats, to reach an island. After over half a year (!), they finally decide to start a 160 km journey across the open sea in the three lifeboats. The crew of 27 manages to reach Elephant Island after 5 days on the open sea in wet clothes at temperatures below -20 degrees. The island is completely uninhabited and there is little hope to ever be rescued from there, so they build a new boat out of the three lifeboats, and Shackleton and five other men set out for a 1,300 km journey to South Georgia, which they know has a small whaling station. Here is an image of the boat [0]. This journey itself has is its own Wikipedia article [1] and is considered one of the greatest boat journeys ever accomplished. The rest of the crew is left behind on Elephant Island. Against all odds, they actually reach South Georgia after 17 days in extremely bad conditions. However, they are on the wrong side of the island. So Shackleton decides to cross the island by foot, with 2 others. It's a 40 km journey across a mountain range nearly 3,000 meters high [2]. They have no map and improvise their route. In what was actually the first confirmed crossing of South Georgia, they reach the whaling station after walking, without stop, day and night, for nearly 2 days. Just imagine being placed at that whaling station, at the end of the world, and suddenly seeing these 3 half-dead men come out of the mountains. They pick up the remaining crew on the other end of the island by boat. Then, Shackleton immediately tries to rescue the rest of his crew which is still 1,300 km back on Elephant Island (he has no idea whether they are still alive). This takes another 3 months and multiple ships. Only the fourth attempt is successful. But in September 1916, over 1.5 years after the Endurance was trapped in ice, Shackleton has saved his entire crew. Everybody survived. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_of_the_James_Caird#/media/File:LaunchingTheJamesCaird2.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_of_the_James_Caird#/med... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_of_the_James_Caird https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_of_the_James_Caird [2] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/PanoramaOfSouthGeorgia.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Panorama...
- csdvrx 5y ago
  > Everybody survived. How on earth should any sane person find this believable? With faith in God (and in Shackleton)
epberry 5y ago
Incredible!! I read the book Endurance and it was absolutely riveting. There’s a particular passage where they describe the final boat journey rowing to the northern island that made me turn the heat up a little higher.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

343 points by 0xedb 5y ago

Well, Shackleton must have been a heck of a guy to live the life he lived. On the Endurance expedition, however, his treatment of Harry 'Chippy' McNish [0], who performed the modifications to the lifeboat James Caird, which was then used to travel across open sea to travel to South Georgia island, and the crew's subsequent rescue, was not a proud moment for Shackleton. In particular, his lack of recommendation regarding the Polar Medal for McNish looks particularly petty in hindsight. But I wasn't there, and I suspect that both Shackleton and McNish were better men than I. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_McNish https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_McNish

aborsy 5y ago

The name Endurance is apt, given that it’s so well preserved after over a century!

ygra 5y ago
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 5y ago
  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 5y ago
    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.
  - notahacker 5y ago
    The main thing is how little is growing on it, since that makes invariably wrecks look unrecognisable, and usually hastens their degradation (the Titanic isn't spectacularly rusting because it's sat in water with very low oxygen contect, it's spectacularly rusting because there's a microbe feeding on it. The well preserved wooden wrecks tend to be submerged in mud or in zones with relatively little life too)

DougMellon 5y ago

> 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 5y ago
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 5y ago
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/ https://nzaht.org/shackletons-whisky/
- hef19898 5y ago
  Apparently some of the gas canisters and canned food from Scotts expedition are still good, and lying around in the ice and snow.

iammiles 5y ago

For anyone who hasn't read it, Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, by Alfred Lansing is a well-written account of the expedition story.

nerfhammer 5y ago
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_Expedition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Trans-Antarctic_Exped...
- raverbashing 5y ago
  > "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 5y ago
    Minus the last phrase.
  - hef19898 5y ago
    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.
    - mindcrime 5y ago
      > And I like the total bluntness of the job offering. It's right up there with: You'll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. I have only done this once before. SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED.
  - eesmith 5y ago
    Followed by: "Searches for the original advertisement have proved unsuccessful, and the story is generally regarded as apocryphal."

pg_bot 5y ago

“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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgh_77TtX5I

cconcepts 5y ago

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.

labster 5y ago
A lot of us software devs can relate to Shackleton, because we have also been on a death march.
- dan-robertson 5y ago
  But Shackleton somehow avoided death marches. Did you mean Scott?

EdwardDiego 5y ago

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-antarctica/ https://captainantarctica.com.au/meat-eating-horses-of-antar...)

eitland 5y ago
> 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 5y ago
  Shackleton is right up there with Nansen and Amundsen.
  - Zickzack 5y ago
    Amundsen lost his life trying to help Umberto Nobile and Nobile's crew.
sendfoods 5y ago
any books you can recommend on historical polar expeditions?
- rjsw 5y ago
  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 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Worst_Journey_in_the_World
  - ncmncm 5y ago

s_dev 5y ago

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 5y ago
link?
- Tronno 5y ago
  The Endurance (2000): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr5r3qV78hI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr5r3qV78hI
  - s_dev 5y ago
    Thankyou

mellosouls 5y ago

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/30829-001 https://www.channel4.com/programmes/shackleton/on-demand/308... https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0272839/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0272839/

ankaAr 5y ago

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.

Naga 5y ago

This has been an exciting few years for exploration fans, between the discovery of the Franklin Expedition's ships and this!

belorn 5y ago

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 5y ago
"Endurance was found just over four nautical miles (7.5km) and roughly southward of Frank Worsley's famous sinking position (68°39'30" South; 52°26'30" 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 https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-60654016 [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_of_the_James_Caird https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_of_the_James_Caird

belter 5y ago

It's incredibly well preserved: https://youtu.be/eB7ApbS2P7o https://youtu.be/eB7ApbS2P7o

dang 5y ago

Also https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/09/climate/endurance-wreck-found-shackleton.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/09/climate/endurance-wreck-f... (via https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30613319 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30613319, but no comments there)

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

lqet 5y ago

I remember watching a TV documentary about the Endurance expedition 10 years ago and being flabbergasted. First, the Endurance is trapped by ice for half a year. Then she is crushed by the ice, and the crew camps on the ice. Then they start a 500 km march, over the ice, carrying the lifeboats, to reach an island. After over half a year (!), they finally decide to start a 160 km journey across the open sea in the three lifeboats. The crew of 27 manages to reach Elephant Island after 5 days on the open sea in wet clothes at temperatures below -20 degrees. The island is completely uninhabited and there is little hope to ever be rescued from there, so they build a new boat out of the three lifeboats, and Shackleton and five other men set out for a 1,300 km journey to South Georgia, which they know has a small whaling station. Here is an image of the boat [0]. This journey itself has is its own Wikipedia article [1] and is considered one of the greatest boat journeys ever accomplished. The rest of the crew is left behind on Elephant Island. Against all odds, they actually reach South Georgia after 17 days in extremely bad conditions. However, they are on the wrong side of the island. So Shackleton decides to cross the island by foot, with 2 others. It's a 40 km journey across a mountain range nearly 3,000 meters high [2]. They have no map and improvise their route. In what was actually the first confirmed crossing of South Georgia, they reach the whaling station after walking, without stop, day and night, for nearly 2 days. Just imagine being placed at that whaling station, at the end of the world, and suddenly seeing these 3 half-dead men come out of the mountains. They pick up the remaining crew on the other end of the island by boat. Then, Shackleton immediately tries to rescue the rest of his crew which is still 1,300 km back on Elephant Island (he has no idea whether they are still alive). This takes another 3 months and multiple ships. Only the fourth attempt is successful. But in September 1916, over 1.5 years after the Endurance was trapped in ice, Shackleton has saved his entire crew. Everybody survived. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_of_the_James_Caird#/media/File:LaunchingTheJamesCaird2.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_of_the_James_Caird#/med... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_of_the_James_Caird https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_of_the_James_Caird [2] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/PanoramaOfSouthGeorgia.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Panorama...

csdvrx 5y ago
> Everybody survived. How on earth should any sane person find this believable? With faith in God (and in Shackleton)

epberry 5y ago

Incredible!! I read the book Endurance and it was absolutely riveting. There’s a particular passage where they describe the final boat journey rowing to the northern island that made me turn the heat up a little higher.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]