Shackleton Antarctic Expedition Starts

A British-Australian expedition recreating Ernest Shackleton's perilous 1916 crossing of the Southern Ocean in a small boat gets under way, braced for fearsome seas and icy, bleak conditions.

Published

4 months ago

Categories

Science

Topics

Science

People

Douglas Mawson, Tim Jarvis, Ernest Shackleton, Robert Falcon Scott, Paul Larsen, James Caird

Places

Australia, Sydney, Antarctica

Transcript

SHOTLIST: KING GEORGE ISLAND, ANTARCTICA, JAN 2013, SOURCE: SHACKLETON EPIC - NO RESALE FOR NON-EDITORIAL PURPOSES -VAR of the expedition boat, "Alexandra Shackleton", being launched at Admiralty Bay, King George Island -VAR of expedition leader Tim Jarvis (L) and skipper Nick Bubb (R) with the boat as it is launched in Antarctica -VAR of cameraman Ed Wardie (L), Jarvis (C) and bosun Seb Coulthard (R) cheering at the launch of the boat -VAR of Wardie, Coulthard and Bubb using nails and a hammer to secure the boat's rigging -VAR of Jarvis (L), navigator Paul Larsen (C) and Bubb (R) looking over a chart -WS of the expedition crew, wearing traditional gear from Shackleton's era, walking along beach at King George Island ready to board the boat -VAR of the expedition boat sailing /// --------------------------------------------- AFP TEXT STORY: Australia-Britain-Antarctica-history-Shackleton Shackleton Antarctic expedition starts SYDNEY, Jan 24, 2013 (AFP) - A British-Australian expedition recreating Ernest Shackleton's perilous 1916 crossing of the Southern Ocean in a small boat got under way Thursday, braced for fearsome seas and icy, bleak conditions. Led by renowned adventurer Tim Jarvis, the team of six set off to sail 800 nautical miles in a spartan lifeboat from Elephant Island off the Antarctic Peninsula to rugged South Georgia, their support team said. They plan to only use the equipment and food available to Shackleton before facing a two-day climb to 900 metres (2,950 feet) over the mountainous, crevassed interior of South Georgia. That will take them to the old whaling station at Stromness, on the other side of the island, where Shackleton and his crew, with little more than the clothes on their backs, raised the alarm. "We are well aware of the dangers but believe we have a good little boat (an exact replica of the original James Caird), a great team and the spirit and courage to be able to honour the legend of Shackleton," Jarvis said. "We are honouring Shackleton, undoubtedly one of the greatest leaders and explorers of all time while trying to draw attention to the impacts of climate change in Antarctica," he added ahead of their departure. Along with Norway's Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole in 1911, Australian explorer Douglas Mawson and Briton Robert Falcon Scott -- his patron-turned-rival -- Shackleton was among the great Antarctic explorers. When he set off on his third trip to the region in 1914 with the ship Endurance, he planned to cross Antarctica via the South Pole. But the vessel became trapped in 1915, and sank 10 months later as it became crushed by the advancing ice. Shackleton and his crew lived on the floating ice until April 1916, when they set off in three small boats for Elephant Island. From there, Shackleton and five crew made the treacherous voyage to South Georgia, reaching their destination 16 days later, then faced the mountainous trek. All members of the Endurance mission were eventually rescued with no fatalities. Shackleton died of a heart attack off South Georgia in 1922 during his fourth Antarctic expedition, aiming to circumnavigate the continent, and is buried on the island. END