Ever since I first read some long lost paperback many years ago, I’ve been entranced with the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton who set sail from London for the Antarctic in 1914 in an attempt to be the first to cross the frozen continent from one side to the other. Only a couple years earlier Norwegian Explorer Roald Amunsen had achieved the south pole, Shackleton then felt crossing the continent was the next great expedition. It’s interesting that this famous adventure almost never took place. Before leaving Shackleton offered the services of his ship, “The Endurance” to the Royal Navy as Britain was at that time embroiled in WWI. However, the then Secretary of the admiralty, Winston Churchill replied with a simple one word telegram that said “Proceed”. From Portmouth they then set sail to Argentina. Then on October 26, 1914, the Endurance left Buenos Aries for the final leg of it’s ill fated journey with a crew of 26 and one Welsh stowaway. . .

On November 15, 1915 after being frozen in the pack ice for about a month, the Endurance sank to the bottom of the icy sea. The crew spent 23 weeks of camping on the open ice before the decision was made that they would take the 3 lifeboats they salvaged and try to reach an island along the artic Peninsula. Hopefully they would be more apt to find food as well as get off the dangerous & ever changing pack Ice. It took them 7 days in nasty seas to reach Elephant Island and only a short time for Shackleton to realize that they would never be found there.

In what is undoubtedly one of the greatest sea voyages of all times, Shackleton, Frank Worsley, and 5 crew members, set sail from Elephant Island to South Georgia Island some 800 miles away in a 23-foot lifeboat. This on the hope of finding help on a remote whaling station. Again they rode out some of the roughest seas the world has to offer and by a miracle of fate and navigation they landed 17 days later on the ice covered rocky shores of South Georgia Island.

You would think that would be enough. However, they landed on the opposite side of the island from where the whaling station would be. Feeling it was safer to hike than go back out into the sea, Shackleton and two officers marched directly across the mountainous, glacier covered Island. It was on May 20th, 1915 that they stumbled into the Stromness whaling station.

Quickly the other two men who were waiting on the other side of the island were rescued. However the rest of the crew on Elephant Island would have to wait. It took 5 attempts before Shackleton could finally charter a ship. It was not until the end of August before he finally was able to return to rescue the rest of his crew. All survived. The story of how they lived on Elephant Island in an upturned lifeboat is amazing and a great story in of itself. I think what has always drawn me in is the fact that there are photographs from this early expedition. You can see the faces. Also Shackleton’s incredible determination not just to survive himself, but absolute devotion to his team is a lesson for everyone. I remember once reading a phrase something to the effect of “if you don’t come home together, you don’t come home!”. It certainly applies here and can wrap up my incredibly long winded lead-in to the upcoming “Operation South Georgia” expedition.

Not surprisingly if you can sit around a table and talk of expeditions that just can’t be done you could expect Peter Bray to start working on the plan. Peter is the first person to ever paddle solo and unsupported across the Atlantic Ocean. In fact there were not a lot of people then who had faith in his success. Personally, I’m happy he got to brag that one up a bit. He also was awarded a “Royal Humane Society” medal for the rescue of a crew member last summer when a boat they were on split in two during a storm.

This expedition portends to be a royal bastard and not for the weak hearted. The team which consists of Nigel Dennis, Hadas Feldman, Jeff Allen and Peter of course, hope to round South Georgia in over 400 miles of insane seas and ever changing weather. How insane? Well, in the past a team of Royal Marines, then a New Zealand team tried and failed. In fact, it’s never been done! Peter said in a BBC interview that “To climb Everest would be easier”. Yikes!

The Templar Films South Georgia Expedition is due to start on 12 November and their progress can be charted on the Nigel Dennis Sea Kayaks website or the Templar Films site. It’s also important to mention that the expedition is also to highlight the work of two UK charities, Children in Crisis and Ty Hafan, a children’s hospice near Cardiff, Wales.

To add to the excitement a new New Zealand (new new??) Team is already almost there having left the Falkland Islands just days ago. Their website post for October 10th opens with,“They say that, ‘in the 40′s there is no law, but in the 50′s there is no god”.