October 2024
The October presentation by Don McKeand started with a brief look at the ships used in the earliest days of Antarctic exploration by Cook and James Clark Ross. Then the advent of steam with ships used by Scott, Shackleton, Amundsen and other explorers of the “heroic age”. Between the wars the need for sail assistance declined. Ships were increasingly used to transport the aircraft then being used with an assortment of vessels, some more suitable than others depending on the budget available. Finally, the ships used post-war and up to the present day with specially built research vessels of many nations and the Royal Navy ice patrol vessels. A well-researched presentation with over 50 vessels being mentioned. The presentation was augmented with an excellent selection of Don’s scratch-built model of ships many of which were vessels mentioned in the presentation. These were on display during the meeting for all to enjoy and marvel at the skill in their manufacture.