Shackleton’s Antarctic voyage to be recreated by rowing team honouring Harry ‘Chippy’ McNish
- Fiann Paul is set to lead a team of six ocean rowers, and hopes to become a ‘badass’ by notching up some world firsts
- Shackleton is famous for keeping all of his men alive despite his ship, the Endurance, being crushed by the ice
A team of six ocean rowers are recreating Ernest Shackleton’s famous 1916 voyage from Elephant Island to South Georgia, departing on January 12.
The crew will row in shifts – 1½ hours on, 1½ hours off – day and night for around 18 days, covering 1,481km across one of the most hazardous stretches of ocean on the planet. They will be in a modern ocean rowing boat with cabins, so three can row while three sleep.
As per the Antarctic treaty, the team will be accompanied by a supervising vessel, which will house a documentary film team and researchers using the trip to gather data.
In 1914, British explorer Shackleton sailed for the Antarctic with his crew. They were attempting to become the first people to travel across from one side of the Antarctic continent to the other, via the South Pole.
Their ship, the Endurance, became trapped in ice before reaching land, with their adventure going on to be one of the most famous and incredible stories of survival.
The Endurance was crushed by ice, and the crew camped on the sea ice from November 1915 until April 1916. When the ice broke up for summer, they paddled to Elephant Island in the lifeboats, and then stood on land for the first time in 497 days.