Irish Examiner View: Finding Endurance was reminder of great explorer

The ship's wheel and aft well deck on the wreck of Endurance, Ernest Shackleton's ship. Picture: Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust

The discovery of the wreck of Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance off the coast of Antarctica brings to mind the age of heroic exploration and, in particular, the extraordinary leadership of the Irish-born adventurer.

As his contemporary Raymond Priestley put it when speaking of the three most notable explorers of the time: “Scott for scientific method, Amundsen for speed and efficiency, but when disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton.” 

The ship had not been seen since it was crushed by ice and sank in the Weddell Sea in 1915, and last month the Endurance22 expedition set off from Cape Town, South Africa, a month after the 100th anniversary of Shackleton’s death.

Endurance never reached land, became trapped in dense pack ice, and the 28 men on board eventually had to abandon ship. After months spent surviving in makeshift camps on the ice floes drifting northwards, the party took to the lifeboats to reach the inhospitable, uninhabited, Elephant Island.

Shackleton and five others then made an extraordinary 1,300km open-boat journey in a lifeboat to reach South Georgia. 

Shackleton and two others then crossed the mountainous island to the whaling station at Stromness.

From there, he was eventually able to mount a rescue of the men waiting on Elephant Island and bring them home safely.