Page 17 - Seniorstoday January 2023 Issue

Late afternoon we heard a talk on Henry
Shackleton, dubbed an explorer by the
British. He massacred whales by the 1000’s
in the early 1900’s, setting up numerous
whaling stations in Antarctica to extract
oil and blubber. For trade (and profit).
For which he was promptly knighted and
declared a pioneering hero. It seems to run
through British blood to exploit, ravage and
destroy - and then declare these deeds as
heroic.
Amundsen, Peary, Edmund Hillary – all
explorers. None of these massacred other
living beings to attain their goals.

Day 14 Elephant Island
Monday, 7 November 2022 The ship had crossed the 60th parallel of
Wind force 9, Sea state – rough latitude at night. Since this marked the
AT SEA – PASSING ELEPHANT geographical boundary of Antarctica, we
ISLAND had officially arrived in the “Great White
South.” Clocks were set back by 1 hour.
The vast menacing glaciers and black
rock mass of Elephant Island loomed on
the horizon. Gale force winds tossed the
Ortelius around causing it to pitch into
the very choppy waters, spray slamming
the decks. The vessel’s speed dropped as
it navigated large lumps of hazardous ice,
difficult to spot in the heavy swells.

SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #43 | JANUARY 2023 17