An exact replica of one of the boats Sir Ernest Shackleton used on his expeditions is to be presented to a specialist museum by a Lochaber man.
In 1916, the Antarctic explorer sailed the James Caird 800 miles from Elephant Island to South Georgia to get help for his stranded comrades.
Trevor Potts, who runs Ardnamurchan campsite at Kilchoan, had a replica built of this boat in 1993.
He named it the Sir Ernest Shackleton and, at Christmas of the same year, he set off with three other men – Rob Egelstaff, Vic Brown and Chris Smith – to re-enact the explorer’s historic journey.
Mr Potts said: “It was a pretty cold, wet, miserable trip, but I’m very glad we did it.
“And, according to Sir Ernest’s granddaughter, Alexandra Shackleton, we set the ball rolling for the resurgence of interest in her grandfather’s expeditions.”
Unfortunately, the 64-year-old is no longer able to sail or kayak due to arthritis so he has found a good home for the 23ft sailing boat.
It is currently being repainted in a large shed on the Ardnamurchan Estate and will go on show at the Polar Museum at the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge.
In September, it is due to be transported to Cambridge, where it will be on permanent display under a canopy at the entrance to the institute.
Mr Potts pointed out that it was fitting that his boat would go on display this year, as it is 100 years since Sir Ernest Shackleton set off on his ill-fated mission to cross Antarctica from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea.
He said: “There has been some fundraising done to get it refurbished and to take it down to Cambridge.
“The idea is not to confuse it the Sir Ernest’s own boat, the James Caird, but to display it as a boat that followed on from his work and took his story on into modern times.”
Shackleton was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer, best known for leading the Endurance expedition of 1914-16.
Early in 1915, Endurance became trapped in the ice, while trying to cross Antarctica via the South Pole, and 10 months later sank.
His crew had already abandoned the ship to live on the floating ice and, in April 1916, they set off in three small boats, eventually reaching Elephant Island.
Taking five crew members, Shackleton went to find help in the James Caird. They spent 16 days crossing the 800 miles to South Georgia and the remaining men from the Endurance were rescued in August 1916.
Adventure and Integrity are surely demonstrated most vividly by one of our most famous Old Alleynians, Sir Ernest Shackleton. It was in the James Caird, a 23 foot whaler, that he and five companions made the epic open boat voyage of 800 miles (1,300 km) from Elephant Island, 500 miles (800 km) south of Cape Horn, to South Georgia during the Antarctic winter of 1916. It is fitting that the James Caird now rests in the College as a permanent celebration of one our most illustrious alumni and of the values for which we stand.
The James Caird Society, a registered charity, was established in 1994 to preserve the memory and honour the remarkable feats and leadership of Shackleton.
Lord Shackleton, son of the explorer, was the Society's Life President until his death in 1994. His daughter, the Hon. Alexandra Shackleton, has been President since l995. It was founded by Harding Dunnett and the current Chairman is Admiral Sir James Perowne KBE.
The Society now has a membership of over 600 worldwide, including over 120 in North America and others in Australia, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Zambia.