On Thursday 15 March, a BBC news team came to Dulwich College to film the James Caird for a story about the Shackleton Epic Expedition. On Sunday 18 March the Alexandra Shackleton was launched at the Dean and Reddyhoff Marina, Portland. This is a replica of the James Caird and will be used by Tim Jarvis and his team to recreate the journey undertaken between April and May 1916 by Shackleton and his 5 companions.
Shackleton had to raise the alarm and get a ship back to Elephant Island to rescue the 22 crew members left there after their ship, MY Endurance sank. If successful, the members of the Shackleton Epic Expedition will be the first team since 1916 to complete both the sea voyage of 870 miles in a 23ft boat and the climb over South Georgia. The news item will be broadcast on Thursday 22 March on BBC1 News at Ten.