G'Day PaddleWisers, Ralph has lured me out of lurk mode with his unabashed plug for the NY exhibition on Shackleton [ let us not forget his fantastic crew ]. I have on my desk at my workplace [ a university bookshop] a copy of a review out of a recent Sydney Morning Herald of the book in question: "The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition" by Caroline Alexander, 214pp, published by Bloomsbury, ISBN 074754123X. The reviewer, Tim Bowden, known to Australians as an enthusiastic Antarctic traveller himself, and former documentary maker for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, begins his review thus: "Mrs Chippy, the ship's cat on Sir Ernest Shackleton's doomed ship Endurance, inspired this re-examination of the disastrous 1914-16 Antarctic expedition to be written. Except that on closer investigation, Mrs Chippy turned out to be Mr Chippy. In any case the cat did not have enough lives to survive. The androgynous feline was shot with the last of the huskies [but unlike the dogs escaped the indignity of being eaten] after 28 members of the expedition were forced to abandon ship on to the pack ice in 1915 when the Endurance was crushed and sunk in the Weddell Sea." I think Ralph mentioned that Caroline Alexander is the curator of the NY exhibition. Bowden says in his review: " The combination of her scholarship, Hurley's [expedition photographer] previously unpublished images and the bedrock of a ripping yarn, have produced the best account yet of this epic story of survival." *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Peter Rattenbury wrote: > > G'Day PaddleWisers, > Ralph has lured me out of lurk mode with his unabashed plug for the NY > exhibition on Shackleton [ let us not forget his fantastic crew ]. Certainly, Peter, they should not be forgotten. I was concentrating on the leadership aspect because we have had discussions about that on Paddlewise in group paddling trips. The crew obviously was probably 9/10ths of the story of survival especially the 22 who stayed behind on Elephant Island living under two overturned row boats. Again, the question of what sort of persons were they came up in the lectures I attended at the museum. One was by Ms. Alexander herself, another by a fellow from the Royal Geographical Society who used original lantern slides and the original script of lectures given by Hussey, one of the crew, back in the 1920s, speaking as if he were he. They were not supermen although they were the product of a highly selective process. Some 5,000 people applied to go on the Endurance and the Aurora (the supply boat that was supposed to set up supply depots on the other side of the planned trek across Antarctica) and just some 50 or so were selected. They were for the most part countrymen of yours from Down Under as well as Irish, English and Scots (and one American who pretended to be Canadian). A large part were seafaring men or field scientists. Shackleton went through great pains to interview them to weed out malcontents and non-convival types. He seemed to be looking for cheerful people with a sense of humor who also knew or had some skills he needed for the voyage. Some did not turn out to be that way but they were the exception and a slim minority. The key for personal survival seemed to be what Alexander observed in all the diaries and letters and referred to as "no one wanted to _let the side down_" attitude or not want to let your mates down. So while, individuals could be petty, vindicative, pricks, whatever, there was this overriding idea of "your mates." Other things helped. While conditions were generally horrible, there was always an attempt to make hot meals of seal or milk or both and that helped keep spirits and bodies up. They took their time doing things and weighing the odds. Team work was encouraged and bonded the crew close. And you still have to get back to Shackleton's leadership and example. When the Endurance was stuck in the ice and the ship basically went on winter quarters, Shackleton choose as his sleeping spot, the coldest most exposed position in an on deck cabin away from the warmth of the main group and smaller groups. Several of the crew in their private papers and diaries later made note of that and it inspired an enormous trust in their leader, confidence that helped see them all through their ordeal. It is interesting to contrast the Endurance example and, say, that of the teams on the Eco-Challenge we talked about here last week. What does this all have to do with paddling? I think a lot. Somewhere toward the end of his account, Shackleton wrote "we have pierced the veneer of outside things." Paddling puts us too at the whim of the elements in quite vulnerable little boats. While most of us will never be in the dire straits the Endurance crew endured, we do find ourselves sometimes in minor, transitory versions of our very own. Somewhere in the diaries or Alexander's book, we are all likely to find something to remember when those times come. auf wierdersehn ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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