Strong winds at Cape Horn delay departure of Shackleton Epic Expedition

by Biarta Parnham 2 Jan 2013 08:04 GMT 2 January 2013

Support vessel Australis and crew now due to depart Ushuaia on 3 January

Gale force winds in excess of 55knots at Cape Horn, on the southern tip of South America, have delayed the departure of Shackleton Epic, the British/Australian expedition which aims to be the first to authentically re-create Sir Ernest Shackleton's legendary voyage of survival.

According to expedition leader Tim Jarvis, the expedition will now depart on the support vessel, Australis early morning on 3 January Ushuaia time (UTC/GMT -3 hours), a day after originally scheduled.

"Given all the preparations during the past two years, we thought it prudent not to set out into a gale that could jeopardise the expedition," Jarvis, a 46 year old British/Australian environmental scientist who lives in Adelaide, said.

"Some boat gear, including the oars, was held up in Chile and we've had to charter a small plane to retrieve the equipment - our expedition bosun, Seb Coulthard has flown to Punta Arenas today to oversee the loading," Jarvis said.

Once the expedition departs, Australis will sail for King George Island to rendezvous with the Alexandra Shackleton, the 22.5' lifeboat which is an exact replica of Shackleton's James Caird. The crew will then spend approximately 12 days preparing the small vessel and conducting sea trials before heading for Elephant Island around 20 January to cross 800 nautical miles of the treacherous southern ocean to South Georgia. Once in South Georgia, the crew will attempt to cross its mountainous interior before arriving at Stromness, the site of the whaling station and Shackleton's eventual rescue.

"I'm feeling a bit conflicted at the moment," Jarvis admitted. "The enormity of this project is dawning on us all as the first chapter, organising the expedition, is realised. Now we've just got to deliver on our dream of honouring Shackleton's legacy as the centenary of this greatest of all survival stories approaches," he said. Members of the expedition include: Tim Jarvis AM, expedition leader (British/Australian), Nick Bubb, skipper (British), Paul Larsen, sailor and navigator (Australian), WO2 Barry Gray RM, mountain leader(British), Petty Officer Seb Coulthard RN FRGS, bosun (British) and Ed Wardle, cameraman (British).

The public can follow the expedition's live tracking and blog at www.shackletonepic.com Shackleton Epic is presented by Intrepid Travel and sponsored by Arup and St.George Bank. Official Supplier is Mackinlay's Rare Old Highland Malt Whisky.