Shackleton’s Epic: Recreating the World’s Greatest Journey of Survival

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Shackleton’s Epic: Recreating the World’s Greatest Journey of Survival
Tim Jarvis

‘Never for me the lowered banner, never the last endeavour’ SIR ERNEST SHACKLETONAPRIL 1916:After his ship Endurance was crushed by Antarctic ice and now trapped on a small inhospitable island, cut off from all hope of help, with winter approaching, Sir Ernest Shackleton made the fateful decision to attempt a risky, almost foolhardy voyage across the wild Southern Ocean to South Georgia with five of his men. From there, he would attempt to trek over unmapped and treacherous glaciers to reach safety. Neither journey had ever been attempted before. Showing the courage and leadership which would become synonymous with his name, Shackleton prevailed, and returned to rescue the entire crew of his ill-fated ship. His feat was dubbed the greatest survival journey of all time.JANUARY 2013:Using the same equipment as Shackleton, eating the same food, sailing a replica of the small, keel-less boat, author, explorer and environmental scientist Tim Jarvis led a six-man crew in an attempt to recreate Shackleton’s epic journey for the first time. A veteran of Antarctica’s frozen wastes, Tim found himself facing his greatest challenge yet – a never ending struggle against conditions which fought him all the way.Shackleton’s Epic tells the stories of these two expeditions, separated by nearly one hundred years, but unified by the struggle to survive the timeless savagery of the Southern Hemisphere.

COPYRIGHT (#ulink_a195cfe8-b83c-557c-be01-fe198a438050)

William Collins

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

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London SE1 9GF

WilliamCollinsBooks.com (http://www.WilliamCollinsBooks.com)

First published in Australia in 2013 by HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty Limited.

This eBook first published in Great Britain by William Collins in 2015.

Text © Tim Jarvis 2013

The author asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Cover photograph courtesy of Paul Larsen; background texture © Shutterstock.com

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780007549528

Ebook Edition © June 2015 ISBN: 9780008155766

Version: 2015-06-11

DEDICATION (#ulink_7b3c8746-3b2a-5ba6-9bd4-0e3b1164c13f)

TO WILLIAM AND JACK

CONTENTS

Cover (#u42ab10c4-f367-592f-b5c2-d28e78e0bbeb)

Title Page (#u0337edc7-c606-595a-9e40-996ec6907384)

Copyright (#ulink_ce9e1ff3-2c93-5886-b8e9-690ae251f7e1)

Dedication (#ulink_0d4c69e0-3727-5c0a-ad71-25cf45c75f9b)

Foreword by Alexandra Shackleton (#ulink_c76f211e-0530-5e9f-873f-a85bdf5fd1f5)

Chapter 1: South (#ulink_577959c6-0381-5222-a626-0e7566da294e)

The Ice Age (#ulink_eb760a8d-27fd-585f-9883-e77e0875511a)

Chapter 2: Endurance

Chapter 3: Wooden Boats

Chapter 4: Iron Men

Chapter 5: Proceed

Chapter 6: The Great Gray Shroud

Chapter 7: Tempest

Chapter 8: Threading the Needle

Chapter 9: Impatience Camp

Charting the Course

Chapter 10: Third-Man Factor

Chapter 11: Fall Line

Chapter 12: Never the Lowered Banner

Saving Antarctica from Man

Acknowledgments

About the Author

About the Publisher

FOREWORD (#ulink_8cfc7474-e552-521c-84ae-5bcc064dbccc)

This is a story of triumph! Tim Jarvis and his companions of the Shackleton Epic Expedition (SEE) have successfully re-created my grandfather Ernest Shackleton’s 1916 voyage in the tiny James Caird (6.9 meters long, or not quite 23 feet). Ernest Shackleton crossed the 800 nautical miles from Elephant Island to South Georgia over the stormiest seas in the world and subsequently climbed the mountainous, unmapped interior of South Georgia.

Shackleton’s aim was, of course, to rescue his twenty-two men marooned on Elephant Island. Tim’s aim was to pay tribute to Ernest Shackleton’s leadership, of which the 1916 expedition is regarded as the finest example. Tim is a veteran of sixteen expeditions and when I met him I had no doubt that he was the man who could make the SEE happen. The team was chosen and finally, after years of preparation, the replica boat was built and named Alexandra Shackleton after myself as patron, a great honor. When she was lowered into the sea at Portland Marina, she looked small but resolute. The SEE set off on their great adventure early in 2013.

How Shackletonian was the Shackleton expedition?

About one hundred years ago, Ernest Shackleton listed the qualities he required in a polar explorer.

First, he listed optimism. During the five years it took to bring the SEE into being, Tim never wavered in his belief that the expedition would become a reality.

Second, Ernest Shackleton listed patience. Tim required a great deal of patience for long, drawn-out negotiations with government departments, sponsors, supporters, and the media. Sorting out the logistics and sourcing the equipment was also a major operation, and a lot of work had to be done on the Alexandra Shackleton. A considerable contribution was made by the other members of the expedition, Nick Bubb, Baz Gray, Paul Larsen, Seb Coulthard, and Ed Wardle.

Third, Ernest Shackleton listed imagination, with which he coupled idealism. Tim had the imagination to see that the expedition’s use of original-type clothing, original-type equipment, and original-type food would bring them physically as well as spiritually closer to the spirit of Ernest Shackleton. And Tim had the idealism to hold to his vision, building a legend on a legend.

Finally, Ernest Shackleton listed courage. It takes courage to embark in such a tiny boat in such seas. If any of the expedition had fallen overboard, they probably would not have survived. And although the dangerous climb over South Georgia’s mountains was delayed by eighty-knot winds, there was no question of not carrying on.

So, all in all, I feel that the SEE was a thoroughly Shackletonian expedition.

As for myself, the high winds delayed my ship’s entry into Grytviken Harbor. It was an anxious time. I knew that all the SEE were well and what they had achieved, but our planned rendezvous at my grandfather’s grave was very important to us all. However, the wind dropped and South Georgia produced its best blue-and-gold day, so bright it was difficult to see. I was reunited with Tim and the team and, as tradition demands, we drank a toast to Ernest Shackleton and poured a libation over his grave.

It was a great moment for a very proud patron.

Alexandra Shackleton