 Nimrod in Antarctic ice in 1908 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | Nimrod |
| Namesake | Nimrod |
| Owner |
|
| Operator | 1918: Emile Dickers |
| Port of registry |
|
| Builder | A Stephen & Sons,Dundee |
| Yard number | 36 |
| Launched | 6 December 1866 |
| Completed | January 1867 |
| Refit |
|
| Identification |
|
| Fate | grounded and broke up, 1919 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | whaler andseal hunter |
| Tonnage | 334 GRT, 227 NRT |
| Length | 136.0 ft (41.5 m) |
| Beam | 26.9 ft (8.2 m) |
| Depth | 16.0 ft (4.9 m) |
| Decks | 2 |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Sail plan |
|
| Speed | 6 knots (11 km/h) under steam |
| Crew | 1919: 12 |
Nimrod was a wooden-hulled, three-mastedsailing ship with auxiliarysteam engine that was built inScotland in 1867 as awhaler. She was the ship with whichErnest Shackleton made hisNimrod Expedition toAntarctica in 1908–09. After the expedition she returned to commercial service, and in 1919 she was wrecked in theNorth Sea with the loss of ten members of her crew.
Alexander Stephen and Sons builtNimrod inDundee.[1] She was launched on 6 December 1866,[2] and completed in January 1867.[1] Her registered length was 136.0 ft (41.5 m), her beam was 26.9 ft (8.2 m) and her depth was 16.0 ft (4.9 m). Hertonnages were 334 GRT and 227 NRT.[3] She was rigged as aschooner.[citation needed] She had a singlescrew, driven by a 50 hp steam engine[3] built byGourlay Brothers ofDundee.[4]
Her principal owner was Thomas B Job, whoregistered her atLiverpool. HerUnited Kingdomofficial number was 55047.[1][5][6] They used her forwhaling[7] andseal hunting.[8]
By 1874Nimrod was rigged as abarquentine.[6] By 1888 her owners were listed as Job Brothers.[4] By 1889 she had thecode letters KWVT,[3] and in that year Job Brothers re-registered her inSt John's, Newfoundland.[9] By 1891 her original engine had been replaced by a two-cylindercompound engine built by Westray, Copeland & Co ofBarrow-in-Furness. It was rated at 60 hp[10] and gave her a speed of only 6 knots (11 km/h).[citation needed]
In 1907 the shipbuilderWilliam Beardmore boughtNimrod and re-registered her inLondon as a yacht[11] to serve as Shackleton's expedition ship. The purchase price was £5,000.[12] She was in poor condition, needingcaulking and renewal of her masts. In June 1907 she reached London,[13] where she was overhauled.
KingEdward VII andQueen Alexandra visited the ship, and on 11 August she left forAntarctica,[14]captained by Rupert England. She sailed viaAustralia andNew Zealand, and on 1 January 1908 she left New Zealand for theSouthern Ocean. To conserve coal inNimrod's limitedbunkers, theUnion Steam Ship CompanycargosteamshipKoonya towed her as far as theAntarctic Circle, a distance of about 1,400 nautical miles (2,600 km). The Union Company Chairman SirJames Mills and theNew Zealand Government each paid half the cost of the tow. From 14 JanuaryNimrod continued under her own power.[15]
On 29 January 1908Nimrod reachedMcMurdo Sound on 3 February she reachedCape Royds,[16] where she landed Shackleton's equipment and expedition team. Shackleton became dissatisfied with Captain England, who often movedNimrod away from shore when he feared the sea ice was unsafe.[17] On 22 February she finished unloading and left for New Zealand, leaving Shackleton's party ashore to make their expedition.[18]
Shackleton had Captain England replaced by Frederick Pryce Evans, who had captainedKoonya when she towedNimrod south in January 1908. In January 1909 Evans broughtNimrod back to Antarctica to rendezvous with the returning expedition team, which Shackleton had split into parties, each with its own objective. The "Northern Party" had exploredVictoria Land, and on 2 February 1909 reached its arranged rendezvous point to meet the ship, but heavy drifting snow preventedNimrod's lookouts from seeing the Northern Party's camp.[19] She continued to theFerrar Glacier, where she picked up a three-man party who had been doinggeological work. She then returned, and two days later succeeded in finding and re-embarking the Northern Party.[20]
Nimrod then anchored off theErebus Glacier Tongue, and between 28 February and 4 March re-embarked Shackleton's "Southern Party",[21] who had made the first successful ascent ofMount Erebus and had unsuccessfully tried to reach theSouth Pole. She had now re-embarked all of Shackleton's team and left Antarctica, reaching New Zealand on 23 March 1909.[22] Shackleton's team named some features of Antarctica's geography after the ship, including theNimrod Glacier.
By 1911 Shackleton ownedNimrod.[23] In 1913 her owner was a Roland V Webster.[24] By 1917 her owner was The SS Nimrod Ltd, hermanager was an Emile Dickers, and her code letters were JNFD.[25][26]
In January 1919Nimrod, commanded by a Captain Duncan, leftBlyth, Northumberland with a cargo of coal forCalais. On the night of 29–30 January she ran aground on the Barber Sands offCaister-on-Sea,Norfolk.[27][28] Herengine room flooded, killing herchief engineer. Her remaining 11 crew sheltered under herbridge. They fireddistress flares, which were seen ashore. TheCaisterlifeboat tried to reach her, but was unsuccessful.Nimrod's crew launched herlifeboat, but the heavy sea capsized it. After six hours the boat was driven ashore, with two survivors clinging to it.[29]
The bodies of seven of her crew were washed ashore. Captain Duncan's body was found north of Caister. Five bodies were found betweenGorleston-on-Sea andHopton-on-Sea, and one was found atCalifornia.[29]
List of Antarctic exploration ships from the Heroic Age, 1897–1922
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
