Some people look at the horizon and admire the view. Others see it as something that must be conquered.
The latter are just wired differently. By differently I don’t mean to be unkind. The world needs people like this. It is only through their sacrifice, strength of character, mental fortitude, and untold suffering that we are shown what human beings are actually capable of.
I’ll confess, my favourite speaker at the recent BizNews Conference (BNC#3) was Peter van Kets on the opening night. You can watch his opening address here. He’s a world record holder who’s rowed across the Atlantic…twice. Once by his lonesome. He and Braam Malherbe also trekked to the South Pole in one of the world’s most gruelling endurance events.
___STEADY_PAYWALL___
While Van Kets tried to pass himself off as a humble teacher from East London with a penchant for adventure, he’s a complete outlier. There’s a reason his day job as a full-time adventurer has very few applicants. I look forward to hearing from his wife Kim at BNC#4 about her incredible trials and tribulations in the adventures she’s undertaken running, cycling, and kayaking around the perimeter of South Africa. Birds of a feather it seems.
Another outlier, without a doubt, was Sir Ernest Shackleton. He and his crew of 27 attempted to be the first to cross the Antarctic continent and, despite failing, captured the world’s imagination. Shackleton’s ship, the aptly named Endurance, has quite literally lived up to its name and was discovered 106 years after it sank.
Since it’s Friday, below is a lighter story for you to saunter into your weekend with. BizNews Editor Alec Hogg should be back on Monday. Thanks for the opportunity to captain HMS Newsletter for the week. Take care.
More for you to read today:
- A better ‘new normal’ looms – amended Covid-19 regs
- Ukraine Has Become a Graveyard for Russian Tanks. Moscow’s tactics are struggling against drones and Javelins, but the fortified vehicles will fight on, say veteran commanders
- Netflix Wants to Charge Users Who Share Accounts. Streaming service is testing extra fee in Chile, Costa Rica, Peru before introducing it in other countries
Inspired by Endurance
By Barry D. Wood
The discovery in early March of the polar exploration ship HMS Endurance 106 years after it sank in icy waters near Antarctica brings to life a story of courage, fortitude and—indeed—endurance.
Born in Ireland, groomed for a career in the Royal Navy, Ernest Shackleton in the early years of the 20th century was part of two Antarctic expeditions that fell short of reaching the South Pole. At age 40 Shackleton tried again. He recruited a crew with this advertisement in a London newspaper.
“Men Wanted for Hazardous Journey. Small Wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.”
Shackleton and 26 crew set out from England in October 1914 in the sail and steam Endurance that had been specially constructed in Norway with the thickest of timbers to withstand icy conditions.
On December 5 the expedition left its base in South Georgia Island east of Cape Horn for Antarctica 1,700 miles to the south. They hoped to be the first men to cross the Antarctic continent.
Approaching the South Pole with its sub-zero temperatures, howling winds and mountains of ice, Endurance became entrapped, unable to move. For ten months the crew lived in the immobilized ship waiting for better weather. It never came. Indeed things got worse as the drifting ice pack squeezed the vessel even tighter, cracking floor boards, poking holes in the hull. Despite pain and discomfort the men of Endurance never gave up.
After one terrifyingly loud crack, Shackleton declared, “She’s going, boys. It’s time to get off.”
Dragging two life boats across the ice, the Endurance crew camped on the ice flow now drifting even farther from their destination. When the ice flow began to break up Shackleton and his men retreated into the small boats making their way through fierce winds and towering waves. After six harrowing days rowing against giant waves with frozen spray lashing their faces the frost-bitten exhausted sailors on April 15 came ashore on Elephant Island, an uninhabited shoal 800 miles from South Georgia.
With no way to send a distress signal and knowing there was little prospect of being found, after a week’s rest Shackleton and three others set out in one of the lifeboats to find help. They steered for South Georgia, battling fierce waves for 16 days. When they finally stumbled ashore at South Georgia they were on the deserted far side of the island. Still not out of danger, they summoned their flagging strength for what was a 36-hour slog over mountains to reach the Norwegian whaling station at Stromness.
Even then the Endurance crew was still in danger. Successive vessels, one from the Falkland Islands, another from Uruguay, tried but failed to punch through the ice to reach the 22 crew members stranded on Elephant Island. Finally, on August 30, 1916, a Chilean vessel got through. It had been four months since Shackleton departed on his frantic race for help.
Miraculously, 20 months after leaving England the entire Endurance crew, arrived safely back home. Their ordeal finally over, not one member of the expedition had been lost.
Shackleton pressed on, driven to try again. Five years later he organized a new expedition. Several sailors from Endurance signed on. Shackleton was suffering the effects of his earlier ordeal. There was no spring in his step, his infectious confidence was diminished. His energy was dissipated, he was worn down. In January 1922 with the expedition paused at South Georgia, he suffered a heart attack while in his bunk, dying soon after. He was 47 years old.
Finding the Endurance is testament to the wondrous technological age in which we live. The robotic submersible—operating at a depth of two miles—came from Saab in Sweden. The 2022 expedition was launched from Cape Town sailing in the modern SA Agulhas. They had tried twice before and failed. What they found in March was a sunken ship that was remarkably untouched, protected by the freezing Antarctic waters. Antarctic wrecks are protected by treaty and there will be no attempt to raise the Endurance.
Finally, remember that heroic actions often occur during times of tribulation. The Endurance sailed while World War One raged in Europe, its wreckage was found while a wider world is recovering from pandemic and a large country in eastern Europe copes with brutal invasion.
NB FOR YOUR WALL STREET JOURNAL ACCESS…
As a Premium subscriber you are entitled to full membership of wsj.com (normal price $29 a month). Be sure to action your access through the Premium link on the BizNews website. Because of The Wall Street Journal’s credential requirements, be sure to create a password which has at least 8 characters and includes at least one letter and one number – NB it MAY NOT contain any special characters (ie #, !, @ etc). To maintain access to WSJ.com, you MUST enter our partner’s website via BizNews Premium at least once a month. A final PS, if you had previously signed up for WSJ you’ll need to clear the cookies from your device. Our help desk can assist – [email protected].
