By
Rebecca Gibson |
Silversea Expeditions is to mark the centenary of explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance Expedition with a series of Antarctica voyages in 2015 and 2016.
Starting with an 18-day voyage from Ushuaia, Argentina to Antarctica in November 2015, the series of sailings onboard Silver Explorer will mark 100 years since Shackleton and his men managed to endure 138 days in Antarctica after their ship, Endurance, was trapped by ice.
The 18-day Antarctica voyages will depart in November 2015 and January, February and December 2016, calling at Elephant Island, South Shetland Islands where Shackleton and his crew were stranded for 105 days. Guests will also visit South Georgia, where Shackleton and five of his crew first touched land after crossing 1,413km of ocean. There will also be an opportunity to visit Shackleton’s burial site in Grytviken.
Explorer and journalist Rebecca Stephens MBE, who was the first British woman to climb Everest and the Seven Summits, will sail onboard Silver Explorer as the ship retraces Shackleton’s journey. She will share her own exploration experiences as part of the onboard enrichment programme.
“The story of Shackleton’s Endurance expedition is a testament to humankind’s determination and quest for discovery,” said Stephens. “Celebrating this unique centennial anniversary with Silversea Expeditions and the Royal Geographical Society is an opportunity to rediscover and bring to life this unique moment in history.”
In November, Silversea and the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) will host a Shackleton evening experience at the RGS headquarters in London, which will feature travel writer, broadcaster and actor Michael Palin CBE as guest of honour.
The evening will mark the opening of ‘The Enduring Eye: the Antarctic Legacy of Sir Ernest Shackleton and Frank Hurley’ exhibition, which will be held at the RGS from the end of November 2015 to the end of February 2016.
An exclusive exhibition onboard Silver Explorer will show a specially curated gallery of images by the Endurance’s official photographer Frank Hurley, who documented the expedition on film and through still photography.