SHIPWRECKED SALVATION
Who was Ernest Shackleton and why is he trending?
EXPLORER Ernest Shackleton set afoot his Endurance vessel and commenced a voyage in December of 1914.
Although Shackleton made it back the next year, the Endurance ship did not and it presumably sunk near Antarctica, but it was eventually found over 100 years later.
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Why is Ernest Shackleton's Endurance ship trending?
Ernest Shackleton and his crew boarded the Endurance ship and departed for the Weddell Sea, close to Antarctica.
During their journey towards their destination, pack ice froze the Endurance.
The conditions of the Weddell Sea were severe to the point where it ended up sinking the ship.
Despite the shipwreck, Shackleton and the rest of his crew managed to survive the disaster.
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Following the vessel's submersion chaos, the crew escaped to Elephant Island on lifeboats to Elephant Island - more than 300 miles away from the shipwreck site.
Since November of 1915, the boat remained uncovered until over more than a century after the calamity.
Was the Endurance ever found?
107 years later, Shackleton's Endurance was recovered by maritime explorers on March 9, 2022.
Endurance 22 - named in honor of the original - found the ship submerged at an estimated 10,000 feet under the Weddell Sea.
The team responsible for the recovery, Endurance 22, was organized by The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust.
The exploration's director, Mensun Bound, said : "We are overwhelmed by our good fortune in having located and captured images of Endurance."
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Mensun added: "This is by far the finest wooden shipwreck I have ever seen. This is a milestone in polar history."
"We hope our discovery will engage young people and inspire them with the pioneering spirit, courage, and fortitude of those who sailed Endurance to Antarctica."
Expedition leader Dr. John Shears said in the same statement: "We have made polar history with the discovery of Endurance, and successfully completed the world’s most challenging shipwreck search."
"I would also like to say thank you to The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust, and all of our partners, especially in South Africa, who have played a vital role in the success of the expedition.”
Who was Ernest Shackleton?
Born on February 15, 1874 - Sir Ernest Shackleton was an Anglo-Irish explorer who led a total of three voyages to Antarctica.
He was a key figure of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
His first expedition, Discovery, took place between 1901 and 1903.
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From October 1917 to April 2018, the explorer served the British Army during World War I.
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Shackleton's last journey, the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition, began in 1921 and ended in 1922.
He succumbed to a heart attack and passed away on January 5, 1922.
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