Polar explorer, adventurer and boatbuilder extraordinaire Jarlath Cunnane is moving apace with his lockdown project to build a replica of the James Caird, the Shackleton Antarctic expedition lifeboat.

Cunnane’s main aim is to remember the Scots carpenter Henry or Harry Chippy McNish, who was a member of the TransAntarctic Expedition 1914-1917.

The modifications that McNish made to the Caird enabled it to weather the epic 800-mile voyage from Elephant Island to South Georgia which Shackleton and five of his crew undertook after their ship, Endurance, was crushed by pack ice.

The James Caird lifeboat - Modifications that McNish made to the Caird enabled it to weather the epic 800-mile voyage from Elephant Island to South Georgia

However, McNish was snubbed by “the Boss” when it came to recommendations for polar medals after the expedition was over.

It’s the second time that Cunnane has built a Caird replica – the first, named after Tom Crean, was used in the Irish recreation of the Shackleton voyage from Elephant Island to South Georgia in 1997 and is at the bottom of the Southern Ocean.

Cunnane has recently turned the hull over and is now fitting out the interior.

Listen below to Cunnane in his Rosmoney boatyard for Wavelengths

Cunnane spoke also about the project, and about McNish’s treatment by Shackleton, to the Dublin Bay Old Gaffers Association this week, and that talk in aid of the RNLI Howth lifeboat is below.

 

#EPICVoyage - A crew of five led by British-Australian adventurer, Tim Jarvis, are attempting to become the first to authentically re-enact Sir Ernest Shackleton's Epic 800nm rescue mission across the Southern Ocean from Elephant Island to South Georgia.

The team, are on their 11th day onboard the Alexandra Shackleton which is heading for South Georgia, some 23 nautical miles away. The purpose built 22ft vessel is an exact replica of the lifeboat, James Caird, which made the same journey across the perilous ocean to reach the rugged peaks of the island.

Alexandra Shackleton was named after the Kildare born, polar explorer's only grand-daughter, who as previously reported on Afloat.ie was at the launch of the Shackleton Endurance Exhibition in Dun Laoghaire last September. The exhibition has a wonderful collection of photographs taken by Frank Hurley which relives the abandoning of the exploration ship Endurance, which became crushed in the pack ice, and the subsequent lifeboat rescue mission which can be read HERE in greater detail.

At only 22.5 ft/6.9m, Alexandra Shackleton, is a purpose built exact replica of the lifeboat, James Caird, which made the same journey across the perilous ocean to reach the rugged peaks of South Georgia.

The re-enactment of Shackleton's 'double' journey across sea and land using traditional gear will be according to Jarvis (46), a veteran of multiple polar expeditions, the most challenging expedition of his life.

Shackleton Epic has been in development since 2008, when Shackleton approached Jarvis with the idea of an expedition to honour one of the greatest leadership and survival stories of all time. To keep abreast of news of the re-enactment team, there's a BLOG and to track the vessel's progress, click HERE