Navigation of the James Caird on the Shackleton Expedition
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Explorer's Gazette
EEXXPPLLOORREERR’’SS GGAAZZEETTTTEE Published Quarterly in Pensacola, Florida USA for the Old Antarctic Explorers Association Uniting All OAEs in Perpetuating the Memory of United States Involvement in Antarctica Volume 18, Issue 4 Old Antarctic Explorers Association, Inc Oct-Dec 2018 Photo by Jack Green The first C-17 of the summer season delivers researchers and support staff to McMurdo Station after a two-week weather delay. Science Bouncing Back From A Delayed Start By Mike Lucibella The first flights from Christchurch to McMurdo were he first planes of the 2018-2019 Summer Season originally scheduled for 1 October, but throughout early Ttouched down at McMurdo Station’s Phoenix October, a series of low-pressure systems parked over the Airfield at 3 pm in the afternoon on 16 October after region and brought days of bad weather, blowing snow more than two weeks of weather delays, the longest and poor visibility. postponement of season-opening in recent memory. Jessie L. Crain, the Antarctic research support Delays of up to a few days are common for manager in the Office of Polar Programs at the National researchers and support staff flying to McMurdo Station, Science Foundation (NSF), said that it is too soon yet to Antarctica from Christchurch, New Zealand. However, a say definitively what the effects of the delay will be on fifteen-day flight hiatus is very unusual. the science program. Continued on page 4 E X P L O R E R ‘ S G A Z E T T E V O L U M E 18, I S S U E 4 O C T D E C 2 0 1 8 P R E S I D E N T ’ S C O R N E R Ed Hamblin—OAEA President TO ALL OAEs—I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year holiday. -
Endurance: a Glorious Failure – the Imperial Transantarctic Expedition 1914 – 16 by Alasdair Mcgregor
Endurance: A glorious failure – The Imperial Transantarctic Expedition 1914 – 16 By Alasdair McGregor ‘Better a live donkey than a dead lion’ was how Ernest Shackleton justified to his wife Emily the decision to turn back unrewarded from his attempt to reach the South Pole in January 1909. Shackleton and three starving, exhausted companions fell short of the greatest geographical prize of the era by just a hundred and sixty agonising kilometres, yet in defeat came a triumph of sorts. Shackleton’s embrace of failure in exchange for a chance at survival has rightly been viewed as one of the greatest, and wisest, leadership decisions in the history of exploration. Returning to England and a knighthood and fame, Shackleton was widely lauded for his achievement in almost reaching the pole, though to him such adulation only heightened his frustration. In late 1910 news broke that the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen would now vie with Shackleton’s archrival Robert Falcon Scott in the race to be first at the pole. But rather than risk wearing the ill-fitting and forever constricting suit of the also-ran, Sir Ernest Shackleton then upped the ante, and in March 1911 announced in the London press that the crossing of the entire Antarctic continent via the South Pole would thereafter be the ultimate exploratory prize. The following December Amundsen triumphed, and just three months later, Robert Falcon Scott perished; his own glorious failure neatly tailored for an empire on the brink of war and searching for a propaganda hero. The field was now open for Shackleton to hatch a plan, and in December 1913 the grandiloquently titled Imperial Transantarctic Expedition was announced to the world. -
South Georgia and Antarctic Odyssey
South Georgia and Antarctic Odyssey 30 November – 18 December 2019 | Greg Mortimer About Us Aurora Expeditions embodies the spirit of adventure, travelling to some of the most wild opportunity for adventure and discovery. Our highly experienced expedition team of and remote places on our planet. With over 28 years’ experience, our small group voyages naturalists, historians and destination specialists are passionate and knowledgeable – they allow for a truly intimate experience with nature. are the secret to a fulfilling and successful voyage. Our expeditions push the boundaries with flexible and innovative itineraries, exciting Whilst we are dedicated to providing a ‘trip of a lifetime’, we are also deeply committed to wildlife experiences and fascinating lectures. You’ll share your adventure with a group education and preservation of the environment. Our aim is to travel respectfully, creating of like-minded souls in a relaxed, casual atmosphere while making the most of every lifelong ambassadors for the protection of our destinations. DAY 1 | Saturday 30 November 2019 Ushuaia, Beagle Channel Position: 20:00 hours Course: 83° Wind Speed: 20 knots Barometer: 991 hPa & steady Latitude: 54°49’ S Wind Direction: W Air Temp: 6° C Longitude: 68°18’ W Sea Temp: 5° C Explore. Dream. Discover. —Mark Twain in the soft afternoon light. The wildlife bonanza was off to a good start with a plethora of seabirds circling the ship as we departed. Finally we are here on the Beagle Channel aboard our sparkling new ice-strengthened vessel. This afternoon in the wharf in Ushuaia we were treated to a true polar welcome, with On our port side stretched the beech forested slopes of Argentina, while Chile, its mountain an invigorating breeze sweeping the cobwebs of travel away. -
Discovery Reports
9<S Q 7.*// DISCOVERY REPORTS Issued by the Discovery Committee Colonial Office, London on behalf of the Government of the Dependencies of the Falkland Islands VOLUME XXII CAMBRIDGE AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS r 943 [Discovery Reports. Vol. XXII, pp. 301-510, Plates V-XIII, September 1943] POLYZOA (BRYOZOA) I. SCRUPOCELLARIIDAE, EPISTOMIIDAE, FARCIMINARIIDAE, BICELLARIELLIDAE, AETEIDAE, SCRUPARIIDAE By ANNA B. HASTINGS, M.A., Ph.D. British Museum (Natural History) CONTENTS Introduction PaSe 3°3 Interpretation of Busk's work 303 Acknowledgements 304 List of stations, and of the species collected at each 305 List of species discussed 318 Systematic descriptions 319 Geographical distribution of species 477 The relation between hydrological conditions and the distribution of the species 491 Geographical distribution of genera 492 Seasonal distribution of ancestrulae 497 Note on the vermiform bodies found in some Polyzoa 499 Addendum 501 References 501 Index 506 Plates V-XIII following page 510 ; POLYZOA (BRYOZOA) I. SCRUPOCELLARIIDAE, EPISTOMIIDAE, FARCIMINARI1DAE, BICELLARIELLIDAE, AETEIDAE, SCRUPARIIDAE By Anna B. Hastings, M.A., Ph.D. British Museum (Natural History) (Plates V-XIII ; Text-figs. 1-66) INTRODUCTION Discovery Investigations an exceptionally fine collection of In the course of the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic Polyzoa has been made, as well as small collections from South Africa, New Zealand and certain islands in the tropical Atlantic. Together with this Discovery material I have studied the collections made by the National 1 Antarctic Expedition (190 1-4) and the British Antarctic ('Terra Nova') Expedition; the South Georgian Polyzoa collected by the Shackleton-Rowett (' Quest ') Expedition and collections from the Falkland Islands lent to me by the Hamburg Museum and the U.S. -
Navigation on Shackleton's Voyage to Antarctica
Records of the Canterbury Museum, 2019 Vol. 33: 5–22 © Canterbury Museum 2019 5 Navigation on Shackleton’s voyage to Antarctica Lars Bergman1 and Robin G Stuart2 1Saltsjöbaden, Sweden 2Valhalla, New York, USA Email: [email protected] On 19 January 1915, the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, under the leadership of Sir Ernest Shackleton, became trapped in their vessel Endurance in the ice pack of the Weddell Sea. The subsequent ordeal and efforts that lead to the successful rescue of all expedition members are the stuff of legend and have been extensively discussed elsewhere. Prior to that time, however, the voyage had proceeded relatively uneventfully and was dutifully recorded in Captain Frank Worsley’s log and work book. This provides a window into the navigational methods used in the day-to- day running of the ship by a master mariner under normal circumstances in the early twentieth century. The conclusions that can be gleaned from a careful inspection of the log book over this period are described here. Keywords: celestial navigation, dead reckoning, double altitudes, Ernest Shackleton, Frank Worsley, Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, Mercator sailing, time sight Introduction On 8 August 1914, the Imperial Trans-Antarctic passage in the 22½ foot (6.9 m) James Caird to Expedition under the leadership of Sir Ernest seek rescue from South Georgia. It is ultimately Shackleton set sail aboard their vessel the steam a tribute to Shackleton’s leadership and Worsley’s yacht (S.Y.) Endurance from Plymouth, England, navigational skills that all survived their ordeal. with the goal of traversing the Antarctic Captain Frank Worsley’s original log books continent from the Weddell to Ross Seas. -
Antarctica, South Georgia & the Falkland Islands
Antarctica, South Georgia & the Falkland Islands January 5 - 26, 2017 ARGENTINA Saunders Island Fortuna Bay Steeple Jason Island Stromness Bay Grytviken Tierra del Fuego FALKLAND SOUTH Gold Harbour ISLANDS GEORGIA CHILE SCOTIA SEA Drygalski Fjord Ushuaia Elephant Island DRAKE Livingston Island Deception PASSAGE Island LEMAIRE CHANNEL Cuverville Island ANTARCTIC PENINSULA Friday & Saturday, January 6 & 7, 2017 Ushuaia, Argentina / Beagle Channel / Embark Ocean Diamond Ushuaia, ‘Fin del Mundo,’ at the southernmost tip of Argentina was where we gathered for the start of our Antarctic adventure, and after a night’s rest, we set out on various excursions to explore the neighborhood of the end of the world. The keen birders were the first away, on their mission to the Tierra del Fuego National Park in search of the Magellanic woodpecker. They were rewarded with sightings of both male and female woodpeckers, Andean condors, flocks of Austral parakeets, and a wonderful view of an Austral pygmy owl, as well as a wide variety of other birds to check off their lists. The majority of our group went off on a catamaran tour of the Beagle Channel, where we saw South American sea lions on offshore islands before sailing on to the national park for a walk along the shore and an enjoyable Argentinian BBQ lunch. Others chose to hike in the deciduous beech forests of Reserva Natural Cerro Alarkén around the Arakur Resort & Spa. After only a few minutes of hiking, we saw an Andean condor soar above us and watched as a stunning red and black Magellanic woodpecker flew towards us and perched on the trunk of a nearby tree. -
PDF Version of SPRI Review 2017
Scott Polar Research Institute Review 2017 91st Annual Report of the Scott Polar Research Institute University of Cambridge, UK 1 Rocky nunataks pierce the otherwise smooth surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet Cover photograph: Mountains and glaciers in Bourgeois Fjord, western Antarctic Peninsula Contents Director’s Introduction 2 Institute Staff 4 Polar Research 6 Research Structure Polar Natural Science Polar Social Science and Humanities Current Research Grants Publications by Institute Staff 14 Books Papers in Peer-Reviewed Journals Chapters in Books and Other Contributions Doctoral and Masters Theses Seminars Polar Information and Historic Archives 18 Library and Information Service Picture Library Archives Polar Record SPRI Website Teaching, Learning and Understanding 21 University Teaching The Polar Museum Projecting the Significance of the Polar Regions Expedition Support: Gino Watkins Fund External Contributions to Polar Activities 23 National and International Roles of Staff Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Friends of SPRI and the SPRI Centenary Campaign 24 Friends of the Scott Polar Research Institute SPRI 2020 Centenary Campaign Cover photograph: Mountains and glaciers in Bourgeois Fjord, western Antarctic Peninsula Director’s Introduction The mission of the Scott Polar Research Institute is University. This year, field research programmes have to enhance the understanding of the polar regions taken place in Greenland, Svalbard, Antarctica and through scholarly research and publication, educating on glaciers in the Himalayas, the latter sometimes new generations of polar researchers, caring for and known as the ‘Third Pole’ because of their altitude- making accessible our collections, and projecting induced low temperatures. the polar regions to the wider community. Much has been achieved during 2017 in each of these areas. -
The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1955-1958
THE COMMONWEALTH TRANS-ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION 1955-1958 HOW THE CROSSING OF ANTARCTICA MOVED NEW ZEALAND TO RECOGNISE ITS ANTARCTIC HERITAGE AND TAKE AN EQUAL PLACE AMONG ANTARCTIC NATIONS A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree PhD - Doctor of Philosophy (Antarctic Studies – History) University of Canterbury Gateway Antarctica Stephen Walter Hicks 2015 Statement of Authority & Originality I certify that the work in this thesis has not been previously submitted for a degree nor has it been submitted as part of requirements for a degree except as fully acknowledged within the text. I also certify that the thesis has been written by me. Any help that I have received in my research and the preparation of the thesis itself has been acknowledged. In addition, I certify that all information sources and literature used are indicated in the thesis. Elements of material covered in Chapter 4 and 5 have been published in: Electronic version: Stephen Hicks, Bryan Storey, Philippa Mein-Smith, ‘Against All Odds: the birth of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1955-1958’, Polar Record, Volume00,(0), pp.1-12, (2011), Cambridge University Press, 2011. Print version: Stephen Hicks, Bryan Storey, Philippa Mein-Smith, ‘Against All Odds: the birth of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1955-1958’, Polar Record, Volume 49, Issue 1, pp. 50-61, Cambridge University Press, 2013 Signature of Candidate ________________________________ Table of Contents Foreword .................................................................................................................................. -
One of the Most Famous and Courageous New Zealanders That Many of Us Have Never Heard Of!
One of the most famous and courageous New Zealanders that many of us have never heard of! This book is a biography of Frank Worsley, without doubt one of New Zealand’s greatest, but largely unsung adventuring heroes. Born in Akaroa he went to sea as a teenager in 1888 on the sailing ships plying their trade between New Zealand and England. But the greatest adventure of his life began when he became the captain of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance, which was trapped in pack ice on the 1914–1916 Antarctic expedition and slowly crushed. The crew of 28 spent over a year camped on the Antarctic ice before Shackleton, Worsley and four others sailed a tiny lifeboat across the wild Southern Ocean to South Georgia to summon help for the rest of the men, who were all eventually rescued. This 17-day journey remains one of the greatest ever feats of seamanship and relied totally on Worsley’s brilliant navigation. Worsley was more than just Shackleton’s captain however. For the rest of his life he continued to seek adventures in a manner contemporaries described as ‘fearless’, being decorated for bravery in both world wars, and continuing to captain ships all around the world. This is a revision of John Thomson’s 1998 book Shackleton’s Captain and features new information and illustrations to refresh a story that deserves to be retold for future generations. The story of this proud New Zealander’s remarkable approach to life, far from home, will inspire young men and women who dare to lift their gaze above the ordinary. -
Crean Traverse 2016 Report
SOUTH GEORGIA – CREAN SHACKLETON TRAVERSE 2016 TRAVERSE TEAM PELAGIC CREW Cian d’Arcy (Ireland) Alec Hazell (UK) - Skipper Morgan d’Arcy (Ireland) Giselle Hazell (South Africa) Aileen Crean O’Brien (Ireland) Bill Sheppard (UK) Crag Jones (UK) – Joint Leader Stephen Venables (UK) – Joint Leader The Crean Glacier and Antarctic Bay from Trident Ridge This expedition was the culmination of many years dreaming and planning by Aileen Crean O’Brien, to follow in the steps of her grandfather Tom Crean on the centenary of his famous traverse with Shackleton and Worsley. Aileen was accompanied by her two sons, Cian and Morgan, and her partner Bill Sheppard, with Crag Jones and Stephen Venables as mountain leaders. Although five of the team were successful, an unlucky accident stopped Aileen herself from completing the traverse. !1 SOUTH GEORGIA – CREAN SHACKLETON TRAVERSE 2016 Salvesen and Crean teams at Grytviken The Crean team boarded Pelagic in Stanley on TRAVERSE – DAY 1 – October 8 September 17, reaching South Georgia the We left King Haakon Bay at 05.30, travelling following week. While waiting to rendezvous on skis, towing pulks. Some bare ice with Jones and Venables, they spent several necessitated wearing crampons for the initial days doing short day walks from anchorages climb onto the glacier. Thereafter, snow on the Barff Peninsula, guided by Alec and conditions were good. The weather was calm, Giselle Hazell, enjoying the same excellent but with persistent cloud at around 500 metres. weather which had benefited the Salvesen At 14.30 we stopped to camp just below the Range Expedition. Trident Ridge, just by the second col from the left. -
Understanding Celestial Navigation by Ron Davidson, SN Poverty Bay Sail & Power Squadron
Understanding Celestial Navigation by Ron Davidson, SN Poverty Bay Sail & Power Squadron I grew up on the Jersey Shore very near the entrance to New York harbor and was fascinated by the comings and goings of the ships, passing the Ambrose and Scotland light ships that I would watch from my window at night. I wondered how these mariners could navigate these great ships from ports hundreds or thousands of miles distant and find the narrow entrance to New York harbor. Celestial navigation was always shrouded in mystery that so intrigued me that I eventually began a journey of discovery. One of the most difficult tasks for me, after delving into the arcane knowledge presented in most reference books on the subject, was trying to formulate the “big picture” of how celestial navigation worked. Most texts were full of detailed "cookbook" instructions and mathematical formulas teaching the mechanics of sight reduction and how to use the almanac or sight reduction tables, but frustratingly sparse on the overview of the critical scientific principles of WHY and HOW celestial works. My end result was that I could reduce a sight and obtain a Line of Position but I was unsatisfied not knowing “why” it worked. This article represents my efforts at learning and teaching myself 'celestial' and is by no means comprehensive. As a matter of fact, I have purposely ignored significant detail in order to present the big picture of how celestial principles work so as not to clutter the mind with arcane details and too many magical formulas. The USPS JN & N courses will provide all the details necessary to ensure your competency as a celestial navigator. -
Conceptual Human-System Interface Design for a Lunar Access Vehicle
Conceptual Human-System Interface Design for a Lunar Access Vehicle Mary Cummings Enlie Wang Cristin Smith Jessica Marquez Mark Duppen Stephane Essama Massachusetts Institute of Technology* Prepared For Draper Labs Award #: SC001-018 PI: Dava Newman HAL2005-04 September, 2005 http://halab.mit.edu e-mail: [email protected] *MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Cambridge, MA 02139 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 THE GENERAL FRAMEWORK................................................................................ 1 1.2 ORGANIZATION.................................................................................................... 2 2 H-SI BACKGROUND AND MOTIVATION ........................................................ 3 2.1 APOLLO VS. LAV H-SI........................................................................................ 3 2.2 APOLLO VS. LUNAR ACCESS REQUIREMENTS ...................................................... 4 3 THE LAV CONCEPTUAL PROTOTYPE............................................................ 5 3.1 HS-I DESIGN ASSUMPTIONS ................................................................................ 5 3.2 THE CONCEPTUAL PROTOTYPE ............................................................................ 6 3.3 LANDING ZONE (LZ) DISPLAY............................................................................. 8 3.3.1 LZ Display Introduction.................................................................................