Dangling from an icebreaker in Antarctica’s Weddell Sea, an underwater robot called Sabertooth dove almost 10,000 feet, painting the seafloor with blasts of sonar that betrayed the unmistakable form of a ship. Over a century later, scientists have now used another state-of-the-art vehicle to finally glimpse the long-lost wreck of the Endurance. From there, Shackleton and a small party sailed 800 miles in a little boat rescued from the Endurance, made land on the island of South Georgia, and hiked to a whaling station, then returned by ship to pick up the rest of the crew. (Do yourself a favor and immediately read Alfred Lansing’s book on the expedition.) They endured for over a year, scurrying across ice floes to hunt penguins and seals, before reaching an uninhabited island. Endurance got stuck off the coast and was slowly crushed by the floating ice, forcing the men into one of the most famous feats of survival in history. The crew’s plan was to hike across the frozen continent, but the sea had other ideas. Their state-of-the-art ship Endurance stretched 144 feet, with three towering masts, its hull ultra-reinforced to resist crumpling in the floating ice. ![]() The ship is currently protected as a historic site under The Antarctic Treaty, an agreement originally signed in 1959 by 12 countries.In late 1914, explorer Ernest Shackleton and 27 crewmen sailed into the icy waters around Antarctica. The funding was provided by an anonymous donor. The search for the wreck cost more than $10 million, The New York Times reported. It was uncovered on Saturday, the 100th anniversary of Shackleton’s funeral, after more than two weeks of searching, according to multiple reports. The ship was found approximately four miles south of the last location recorded for the vessel by Frank Worsley, a former captain of the Endurance. Pterosaur: Fossils of the 'largest animal that had ever flown' unearthed in Scotland World: 1,500-year-old wine factory unearthed in Israel believed to be world's largest from that era Twenty-eight men on board had to abandon the ship, and Shackleton was able to organize a rescue of the men after he and a smaller group reached South Georgia. The Endurance sank in 1915, after it was trapped in dense pack ice. John Shears, the expedition's leader, said in the news release that the team “successfully completed the world’s most challenging shipwreck search.” This is a milestone in polar history,” he added. You can even see ‘Endurance’ arced across the stern, directly below the taffrail. It is upright, well proud of the seabed, intact, and in a brilliant state of preservation. “This is by far the finest wooden shipwreck I have ever seen. “We are overwhelmed by our good fortune in having located and captured images of Endurance,” Mensun Bound, director of exploration on the expedition, said in a news release. The team of researchers, technicians and others worked from a South African vessel. ![]() The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust confirmed on Wednesday that the search expedition, known as Endurance22, located the wreck of Endurance at nearly 10,000 feet underwater in the Weddell Sea, located east of the Antarctic Peninsula. ![]() Watch Video: Lost sunken ship of Ernest Shackleton found after a century underwaterĪ team has found the wreck of explorer Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance more than 100 years after the vessel was crushed by ice and sank near Antarctica.
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