2015, marked the 100 year anniversary, since Ernest Shackleton and his 27 companions were trapped in the Antarctic ice. Our speaker Kevin Fitzpatrick gave the club a rousing portrayal of what life was like for Shackleton and his Expedition.  In 2015, Kevin was fortunate to not only travel to the Antarctic Continent but to follow the exact escape route taken by Ernest Shackleton in the 'Shackleton Double', a 1300 kilometre open boat trip across the fiercest sea on the planet followed by an epic crossing of South Georgia.  Shackleton’s ship Endurance became beset in the ice of the Weddell Sea before reaching Vahsel Bay, and drifted northward, held in the pack ice, throughout the Antarctic winter of 1915.  Eventually the ship was crushed and sunk, stranding its 28-man complement on the ice. After months spent in makeshift camps as the ice continued its northwards drift, the party took to the lifeboats to reach the inhospitable, uninhabited Elephant Island. Shackleton and five others then made an 800-mile (1,287 km) open-boat journey in the James Caird to reach South Georgia. From there, Shackleton was eventually able to mount a rescue of the men waiting on Elephant Island and bring them home without loss of life. Kevin’s presentation and photos were another example of the quality of Speakers the Rotary Club of Crows Nest arranges for it’s members each week." 
 
 
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