The wreck of the Endurance, Ernest Shackleton's sailboat, has been found at a depth of 3008 m. The boat is lying upright on the bottom and the name of the boat is perfectly visible on its transom. An improbable discovery of this wreck which, given its location close to Antarctica, was among the most inaccessible boats.
An incredible epic in 1915
The Endurance sank in November 1915 in the Weddell Sea (north of Antarctica under Cape Horn). The crew had left South Georgia at the end of 1914 with the objective of reaching the Antarctic continent and making the first crossing on foot. But the boat was caught by the ice much too far from the shore, forcing the crew to live on the ice floe for 15 months. Finally, the three-masted ship of 44 meters was broken by the ice before sinking.
The crew of 28 men then embarked in 4 open canoes to reach, after a difficult journey, Elephant Island. From there, Shackleton and 4 men took to the sea to reach South Georgia, which they had to cross on foot before alerting a whaling station. Throughout this epic journey, Shackleton never stopped trying to save his men. This is what he did when he returned to Elephant Island to recover his crew of 28 sailors safe and sound.
An expedition to find the wreck
It was the South African icebreaker S.A. Agulhas II with the research expedition Endurance22 on board that spotted the wreck on Wednesday March 9, 2022. The images shot above the ship show a surprising state of preservation after more than 100 years at the bottom. Protected by the Antarctic Treaty, this wreck can be filmed and photographed, but must not be disturbed in any way. No object will be brought up for display.
