- 08
- 01
- 2025
- Category:
- Exploration & Discovery
Epic survival story of Ernest Shackleton; rediscovery of his vessel Endurance
By David Evans Shaw
The remarkable story of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic voyage on the vessel Endurance a century ago has long captivated audiences as an example of heroic exploration and survival. In that context, I am honored to serve as a member of the “E2S” project team to celebrate the amazing story of Shackleton’s expedition, and the recent 2022 rediscovery of Endurance. This famous vessel was found sitting on its keel nearly 10,000 feet beneath Antarctica’s Weddell Sea 107 years after it was crushed by ice and sank on November 21, 1915. My friend Mensun Bound served as director of exploration for historic expeditions to find the Endurance, resulting in its astounding rediscovery on March 5, 2022.
Our E2S project team seeks to revitalize the Shackleton story to benefit future generations of explorers, entrepreneurs, and leaders… encouraging people to “channel their inner Shackleton” consistent with his well known saying : “by endurance we conquer.”
It’s a tale of the triumph of human spirit in all its wonder and frailty. Faced with almost incomprehensible challenges, all 28 crew members of the Endurance survived nearly 2 years of desperately difficult conditions and returned home safely.
National Geographic Society recently recapped the Shackleton/Endurance story in this article.
The Shackleton story has served as inspiration to many due to his extraordinary pivot from disappointment as an entrepreneur of discovery, to becoming a highly successful entrepreneur of survival. In my recent book Wave Making, I cite the Shackleton story as an example of the benefits of embracing struggles. The human brain is a magnificent resource for facing difficult challenges, helping us to be more resourceful, productive, and action-oriented.
Because the Shackleton story focuses significantly on Antarctica, I’m happy to share a blog post and video I made of an expedition to Antarctica in 2020 to celebrate the bicentennial of its discovery.
