The Endurance

1914-1916

One of the greatest survival stories ever

told.The Endurance is an incredible survival story of polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and 28 members of his crew that survived the Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Despite being stranded for more than a year in a barren, frozen wilderness, these men improvised, adapted and survived. Sir Ernest

Shackleton was an officer in the Royal Navy and had participated in and led several successful British expeditions to Antarctica between 1902 and 1909. The last of these, The Nimrod Expedition, marked the first ascent of the colossal volcano Mount Erebus and the discovery of the Magnetic South Pole. However, Shackleton wasn't content to live an easy and sedentary life as a hero. He was still determined to explore further and complete a task others had failed to accomplish -crossing the continent of Antarctica. He began planning this imperial trans-Antarctic expedition, gathering funding and hiring a crew of sailors who could handle the harsh journey.

"Men wanted: For hazardous journey.

Small wages, bitter cold, long months

of complete darkness, constant

danger, safe return doubtful. Honour

and recognition in case of success."

-Sir Ernest Shackleton

The MissionShackleton's plan was to set sail with two ships with a total of 56 men split evenly between them. Their journey would take them across 1,800 miles of the frigid continent. He would be crossing the Antarctic from coast to coast via the South Pole. He planned to set out from the Weddell Sea region (to the south of South America) across a completely unexplored region of Antarctica, to the pole, and then to the Ross Sea / McMurdo Sound area (to the south of New Zealand).The Endurance expedition consisted of two parties and two ships. Shackleton was in charge of the Endurance ship for the Weddell Sea party and Captain Aeneas Mackintosh was in charge of the Aurora, for the Ross Sea party. The Weddell sea party would land 14 men in an area called Vahsel Bay. Six of these men, led by Shackleton, would undertake the 1800 mile journey to the Ross Sea, aided by 69 dogs and two motor sledges, among other things. The remaining eight men were to carry out scientific work. The scientific staff of six accompanying Endurance comprised of two surgeons; Alexander Macklin and James McIlroy, geologists; James Wordie, biologist; Robert Clark, physicist Reginald James and meteorologist Leonard Hussey.

The Ross Sea party was to travel to the other side of Antarctica, land and lay stores of supplies along parts of the route the transcontinental party were due to take. This was so that the Weddell Sea team wouldn't have to try and move supplies for the whole journey across the huge expanse of ice.

Would you have volunteered to travel on this expedition into

the unknown?

The Journey

On August 8th, 1914 the Endurance sailed for the Antarctic via Buenos Aires and the sub Antarctic island of South Georgia where there was a Norwegian whaling station. The crew left with no regrets. Two days prior to leaving, there was a general mobilization of troops, supplies and calls for volunteer soldiers in the event of war breaking out. Within two hours of sending out a telegram offering the ships, stores and services to the country, Winston Churchill sent a telegram back thanking them for their offer but desired that the expedition go on. That night, at midnight, war broke out.Arriving at South Georgia, Shackleton learned from a whaling captain that the ice conditions were particularly heavy that year. Instead of spending a few days on South Georgia, they remained there for a month to allow the ice further south to disperse. Extra supplies were loaded on to the Endurance. Coal, to help with the extra load on the engines when it came to pushing

through the packs of ice and extra clothing and stores were loaded in case they were caught in the Weddell Sea as it froze.

Would you have set sail knowing the ice pack was

severe in the water?

The Disaster BeginsAfter more than a month of sailing, Endurance battled her way through a thousand miles of packed ice and was one hundred miles - one days sail - from her destination (land could be seen on the horizon). However, inclement weather and currents forced the Endurance to redirect, and in mid-January 1915, progress toward shore ground to a halt. Ice crushed in from all sides, trapping the ship completely. In February, crew pounded away at the ice with picks and chisels to free the Endurance, but these efforts proved futile. They were stuck - worse yet, the ice around them was drifting north. The ships primitive wireless communications equipment had no hope of calling for rescue at this distance, so Shackleton and his crew had to wait for the ice pack to release them. But months passed, and the pack continued to forcefully carry the Endurance away from shore. Soon it was May and winter

arrived. By July, the ice began to break up somewhat, but storms in August and September made the situation even worse, pounding the hull with massive chunks of ice. By October 24, 1915, the Endurance could endure no more. Ice punctured the hull and water began steadily seeping in. Shackleton ordered all 28 of his men to abandon the ship and bring all supplies to camps on the ice. This included their remaining food, several packs of sled dogs intended for the trans-continental journey and three 20-foot lifeboats. In late November, the Endurance sank to the bottom of the Weddell Sea, leaving the men stranded on the ice hundreds of miles from shore.

If you were a crew member, how would you be feeling about the situation?Do you think they had enough supplies to survive the winter?

What do you think the crew's morale was like?

The Endurance had drifted at least 1186 miles since first becoming frozen in the ice 281 days prior. The ship was 346 miles from Paulet Island, the nearest point where there was any possibility of finding food and shelter. A camp was created, five tents about a mile and a half from the ship. The camp was named "Ocean Camp." Supplies were limited and the ice itself had started to break up as the Antarctic spring got under way. On December 20th, 1915, Shackleton decided that the time had come to abandon their camp and march westward to where they thought the nearest land was, at Paulet Island. The warmer December temperatures made the ice soft, slowing their progress yet again. Shackleton had to abandon the plan. The crew of the Endurance set up the appropriately-named Patience Camp and waited for the ice to provide an opening.Two more months passed and supplies dwindled. The men hunted seals and penguins to stay alive, and were eventually forced to shoot and eat the sled dogs. Finally, on April 8th, 1916, the ice split, allowing Shackleton and his crew to board the lifeboats. They set out for the nearest accessible piece of land, Elephant Island.After five grueling days at sea, with little remaining food and temperatures as low as -20 degrees Fahrenheit, they set foot on land for the first time in over a year. All 28 men had made it alive.

The nearest human settlements were still 920 miles away, a whaling station on South Georgia Island.

Struggling Ashore

If you were the captain, what would be your plan after reaching land?

Would you stay on land or adventure out in the ocean again?

Although they were now on land, Elephant Island was uninhabited and barren. Shackleton knew that there was no chance of rescue if they stayed put, so he made the decision to set out again in one of the three lifeboats. He would attempt to travel 800 miles to return to South Georgia Island.On April 24, 1916, Shackleton and five men with a month's worth of provisions, set out to South Georgia. Antarctic winter had set in and they were going to attempt to cross one of the worst seas in the world. Shackleton knew that if they did not reach help after a month, they were doomed anyways. The rest of the men stayed behind on Elephant Island, building a makeshift shelter out of the remaining two lifeboats. For 14 grueling days, the men endured gale-force winds, monstrous waves and a constant soaking of freezing spray. The little lifeboat was perpetually coated in ice and in danger of capsizing. The men finally made it to the southern coast of South Georgia Island, exhausted and hungry. One last hurdle, the human settlement was on the north side of the island. Shackleton and two men made a non-stop 36 hour crossing of the island's mountainous and uncharted interior, 22 miles to the whaling station. On May 20, they at last reached civilization!It would take another three months to return through the packed ice

surrounding Elephant Island. It took four attempts, but on August 30th, 1916, the last of the men were rescued and safe. The men had survived on Elephant Island for 137 days!

Out to Sea Again

What do you think the men on Elephant Island were thinking

during the 137 days?

Fate of the CrewIn the end, all 28 crew from the Endurance survived - but only by a narrow margin. The 22 survivors on Elephant Island had overturned their two lifeboats to form improvised shelters, and survived on meat from seals and penguins they hunted. However, when meat became scarce, they were nearly forced to cannibalism. Just days before they were planning to embark on a suicide mission to get help,

Shackleton returned to rescue them!Two years and 22 days since first leaving Plymouth, and nearly 21 months since they first set sail from South Georgia, the men were finally safe and headed home. Four days later, the Yelcho ship docked in Punta Arenas, Chile, where a crowd turned out to witness the triumphant arrival. Shackleton wrote a message to his wife "I have done it, not a life lost, and we have been through hell!"On the other side of the continent the 28 men from the Aurora had also suffered considerable difficulties. A powerful storm broke the Aurora from its mooring, leaving a 10-man shore party stranded on land with minimal supplies. Knowing that Shackleton would die if the Aurora's mission failed, these men journeyed inland and deployed the supplies as planned. Not knowing that Shackleton would never reach them. The 10 men would remain stranded in Antarctica until rescue arrived in January 1917. By that time, three of them had perished - one as a result of scurv, the other two simply disappeared. It is believed they may had fallen through the thin ice.

At what lengths would you go to survive?What do you think the crew's family were thinking during all this time?

The Search for the Lost ShipJanuary 2019, Antarctic scientists attempted to locate the wreck of Sir Ernest Shackleton's lost ship, the Endurance. The scientist team aboard the S.A. Agulhas II plan was to put down an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to map the seafloor for anomalies. The robot would run back and forth across the search zone like a lawnmower. There would be no attempt to retrieve artifacts should the Endurance be found. The intention was only to make a 3D model of the wreck site and take photographs. The search was very challenging. The Agulhas had to periodically shift its hull to maintain open holes through which to launch and recover the AUVs.

The team was on the final leg of the mission to locate the wreck when the vehicle went underneath a vast sheet of floating ice and lost contact with the research vessel. The team tried to recover the AUV, but eventually decided to abandon the mission because of the risk they too might become trapped in the ice. Any captured footage there may have been of the Endurance on the seabed was lost. For now, the ship will remain undiscovered.

1. How do you think Sir Ernest Shackleton felt when he realized that his plan to travel over the ice was just not going to work?2. What do you think was going through the crew's mind when they had to abandon ship and move onto the ice?3. Even today, with all the technology, would you attempt this journey?4. What is your overall impression of Sir Ernest Shackleton?5. Would you have continued to sail the ocean after living through this journey?6. Would you risk your safety trying to rediscover the Endurance?

Engaging Questions