The
Wreck of Endurance:
During
the Antarctic winter Endurance operated as a floating base whilst being
carried in the overall clockwise circulation of the Weddell Sea ice pack.
She drifted slowly and erratically northwards for over 2400 km and about
500 km off the eastern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.
By early spring Endurance began to suffer the grinding of the ice
floes around her and distortion caused by the moving waves of pressure ridges
passing through them. By October
21st it was clear she could not survive and Shackleton ordered equipment and
provisions off-loaded onto the ice. The
27th October 1915 was the fatal day as increasing pressure finally caused Endurance
to heel right over. With a
twisted hull she was slowly crushed and sank lower through the ice as she began
to take on water.
The
design depicts expedition photographer Frank Hurley capturing these fateful
moments on his cine film which
shows Endurance's masts collapsing as her rigging was torn apart. On 21st November 1915 and almost 960 km northwest from where
she was beset ten months previously the agony of Endurance ended as she
slowly slipped under the icy waters of the Weddell Sea.
Return to British Antarctic Territory