Special Report One: The Antarctic Explorers
Antarctica: a land of ice, snow, extreme cold, high winds, blizzards, calms, sunshine, the most extraordinary natural beauty imaginable – full of life, full of intrigue. A land that has drawn man to explore, to suffer the most severe privations in the quest to be ‘first’ – and to sometimes die in the attempt – ‘for flag and country’. A land that was once subtropical and is now one of the driest places on earth – a desert – with very little rainfall overall. A land that never warms below the surface. A land with only a recent history involving man. But what a history.
Seamaster communications expert and crew Don Robertson writes:
“To misquote Scott completely: ‘God, this is an awesome place.’ Snow- and ice-covered mountains, glaciers, icebergs the size of houses and then some. Add in the wildlife and it is really awesome.
When Scott made his remark, ‘Great God! This is an awful place …’, he was in a tent at the South Pole itself, while I am happily living in comfort on Seamaster. Some difference.
This frozen continent, the fifth largest, remained a challenge to navigators and explorers for centuries. Early Greek philosophers theorised that a southern landmass must exist to ‘balance’ the known mass in the Northern Hemisphere. Magellan, Drake and Cook came close to this area. However, it was not until the early 1800s that the blanks started to be filled in on the world map, and conclusive mapping did not take place until the early 1900s.
Following discovery came the great explorers, and while not taking anything away from anyone, for me the journeys of Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen fire my imagination. Here were men who set out on the great journey to the South Pole, some returning, some perishing, while others did not succeed in reaching their goal but survived against all odds. Courage, leadership and self-sacrifice made up their character. What must Robert Falcon Scott have felt when, on reaching the Pole, he made his discovery?
From Scott’s journals: ‘… Tuesday January 16th 1912 … we started off in high spirits in the afternoon … Bower’s sharp eyes detected what he thought was a cairn … we marched on, found that it was a black flag tied to a sledge bearer; nearby the remains of a camp … this told us the whole story. The Norwegians have forestalled us and are first to the Pole.’
Scott and his brave party had found Amundsen’s tent at the South Pole.
Amundsen, having initially planned an assault on the North Pole, only to find out during his preparations that Robert Peary had forestalled him, turned his attention to the South Pole. At 3 pm on Friday, 14 December 1911 his party called a halt and with ‘five weather-beaten, frost-bitten fists’ grasped their country’s flag and planted it at the South Pole.
Shackleton, having previously been to the Antarctic with Scott, set out in early 1914 on his own expedition. While the expedition failed to reach its objective, to walk 1800 miles across the continent, it remains a legend in tales of survival after Endurance was crushed in the ice pack and all were forced to abandon ship.
Raymond Priestly, who sailed on an earlier expedition with Shackleton, had this to say: ‘Scott for scientific method, Amundsen for speed and efficiency, but when disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton.’”
Sir Peter Blake
"Having vision is not enough. Change comes through realising the vision and turning it into a reality. It is easy to espouse worthy goals, values and policies; the hard part is implementation."
Learn about Sir Peter Blake and his journeys around the globe
