Shackleton's Voyage: England and the Sail from England

The British post-Victorian age witnessed the last wave of zealous explorers who set sail for Antarctica, forming what is known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Among These British Explorers, a name stands out: ERNEST SHACKLETON. Shackleton lived during a period when the last great blanks on earth were being filled in by flamboyant adventurers infected by dreams and often hopelessly unprepared for the terrible rigors they faced. Of all these explorers’, Shackleton's expedition was the most dramatic, poetic, and eloquent, as this Anglo-Irishman repeatedly throw himself under the mercy of waves, ice, and cold of the “weird white world,” searching for glory.

Chance had played a part in Shackleton's rise as polar explorer. In contrast, his most famous expedition onboard the ship 'Endurance' was a choice; as the most attracting milestones in polar exploration have been already achieved _mainly, Roald Amundsen claimed the geographic South Pole in December, 1911, and Robert Peary reached the North Pole in 1909_ Shackleton needed to do something unprecedented to catch public attention and scientific interest. Thus the goal was set: the first land crossing of the entire Antarctic continent _from the Weddell Sea, via the South Pole, to the Ross Sea. A goal so ambitious that even with today's standards, it is considered a great feat stamina and endurance.  

Accordingly, the struggle for fundraising began. The journey was an extremely bold venture that required not just one but two ships stationed at opposite ends of the country, along with more than 50 men and a large amount of Equipment and supplies. Even though there was considerable doubt regarding the mission and no official backing, Shackleton managed to raise funds privately. One of the major contributors was the Scottish industrialist, Sir James Caird. On being requested for a small contribution of £50 for the expedition fund, he surprised Shackleton by contributing £24,000 (worth about £1,500,000 today). 

The voyage with two ships: the Endurance and the Aurora. The Endurance (The Weddell Sea Party) was supposed to leave Shackleton and his team at the point where they would commence their journey across Antarctica. The Endurance was commissioned by Adrien de Gerlache, a polar explorer from Belgium, and Lars Christensen, a Norwegian whaling magnate. Initially, they had plans of building a luxurious vessel to carry out tourist cruises and polar bear hunts in the Arctic regions. However, when the owners of the ship went bankrupt, and Shackleton acquired the ship at an amazingly low price. It was a three-mastered barquentine built of remarkably resilient wood (oak and Norwegian fir), which was covered with incredibly hard greenheart wood, a design choice intended to enhance her survival odds, but will prove to be the reason behind her downfall.

The Aurora (The Ross Sea Party), on the other hand, was the second older ship, a strongly built barquentine constructed in Dundee, Scotland, in 1876. The vessel had initially been built for whaling and seal hunting, but following the rapid deterioration of the industry and prior to Shackleton buying her, she had already seen years in Arctic and Antarctic Waters as an exploratory vessel, particularly during Sir Douglas Mawson’s Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911 – 1914). Shackleton bought the vessel from Mawson to secure the logistical link in his supply chain. The ship was required to sail to the far side of Antarctica (The Ross Sea), where its men had the arduous task of laying the supply depots that Shackleton would require during the final phase of his crossing.

Shackleton’s troubles weren’t only sea-related (as we will see in upcoming articles), since The most dramatic immediate event began at the very start of the expedition, with The Endurance leaving England on August 1, 1914, the exact same day that Germany declared war on Russia, thus beginning World War I. As Europe entered a period of war, Shackleton immediately abandoned the expedition and offered the vessels, sailors, and supplies to  the British Admiralty for use in war, telegraphing asking they we should remain in port and receiving one famous word from then the First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, who wired back “Proceed.” 

Some men departed for their regiments, and naval reservists tried to enlist, but the expedition continued south in spite of the war raging across Europe behind them. Like this, Ernest Shackleton and his crew sailed forward on the most Ambitious Expedition of its time. An Expedition that even its failure was considered a victory. 

Edit This Article