THE SHIP BENEATH THE ICE

A fifth-generation Falkland Islander chronicles the “journey to find the greatest shipwreck of them all.”

Written in a brisk diary format, Bound’s exciting, dramatic book is very much a personal one. The author served as director of exploration on the two attempts to find Endurance, the famous vessel captained by Ernest Shackleton that sunk in Antarctica in 1915. The wreck rests 3,000 meters below the surface. After years of preparation, on Jan. 1, 2019, Bound and his team of 51 scientists set off for the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula on an icebreaker, with its crew of 44, to find the ship. As Bound shows, the trek was “a bold new step forward in subsea technology and, I thought, probably a challenge too far.” Maneuvering their way around shrinking icebergs, the author noted with sadness the small number of penguins, seals, and whales they encountered. Indeed, “the Antarctic Peninsula is the canary in the coal mine for climate change.” While testing their autonomous underwater vehicle, they almost lost it under the ice. After days of research, they set off for the Endurance. They faced numerous technical complications that required new parts to be flown in, but they finally reached the site and began exploring with the AUV. Unfortunately, the ship got stuck in the ice, the weather deteriorated, and they were forced to give up. However, on Feb. 1, 2022, they launched another expedition, this time featuring a Sabertooth diving vessel with a tilt camera. Late in the month, they arrived at the site area and began search runs. On March 5, Sabertooth found something 4 meters above the seabed. The author enthusiastically recalls when the team first saw the shape of the hull and then the bow. Then a shout: “That’s it. It’s the Endurance!” Remarkably, it was in a semi-intact state. Throughout, Bound nicely interweaves the fascinating history of Shackleton’s expedition into his own.

An entertaining true-life adventure tale perfect for naval aficionados and armchair expeditioners.