I love the ocean and history and shipwrecks combine these two passions into one. They are beautiful and eerie, ghostly and sad, time capsules of history, and proof that nature can conquer.
Each shipwreck represents so much more than the parts on the bottom. They are culminations of human efforts lying out of reach in the deep, surrounded and being recovered by nature. Even a small ship represents the work that built it – the physical construction of a ship is no small feat. That work represents the people that built it. On the bigger ships, hundreds of people put forth effort and combined resources into a magnificent example of human engineering. The ship then also represents the lives of those who were on it and possibly perished with the ship. The Endeavor is one of the most amazing shipwrecks because it’s loss and its crew trek to safety had no fatalities, simply remarkable considering the conditions and location of the wreck in the Antarctic.
Finally, each ship represents the endeavor that put it on the seas – no matter how big or small the goal, each was launched by plans, strategies, and hopes. No ship’s charter planned for it to go down. So each serves as a reminder of serendipity, of the power of nature, of the folly of man, and of the inevitable.
Behind the Endurance is an amazing story that simply does not fit in this small space. I strongly encourage you to read more about Ernest Shackleton, Frank Worsley, and the whole crew. I have Alfred Lansing’s Endurance on the top of my reading list, after I finish a book I’m currently reading about the sinking and recovery of the Central America. (More to come on that one later)
I have not been closely following the most recent searches for the Endurance so this was a bit of a surprise for me. The discovery of the ship seems to be a full story in and of itself and I look forward to the documentary. It is exciting to me that in our deeply connected age they were already streaming and recording the search so we have first-person footage to follow along.
As I understand it, the wreck is incredibly well preserved. This seems to be the result of the cold and depth but I look forward to more research on this point. Other wrecks of this age decompose, are eaten away or simply washed away. I will be diving into the work behind this discovery but I believe that its fitting to close here by highlighting that the ship will not be recovered but will instead be researched, mapped, recorded, photographed, and studied where it is as a result of the Antartic Treaty.
Human cooperation and endeavors can be amazing, even after years of entropy, both their launches and the stories they leave behind.