Amazing Facts

Amazing Facts

1. Discovery was the first ship built specifically for scientific research into Antarctica

2. There was one death on Discovery’s maiden voyage – that of a young Charles Bonner who fell from the main mast and hurtled headfirst to his death, his skull crushed on the iron deckhouse.

3. Scott’s fascination with Antarctica led to his death in 1912, on his return from the South Pole on his second polar expedition.

4. The farmers of New Zealand gifted Discovery a flock of 45 sheep for their journey so they could eat fresh meat. These sheep were slaughtered on arrival in the Antarctic and hung from the rigging to freeze.

5. Almost every man on smoked so on the maiden voyage 1,000 lbs of tobacco were taken on board Discovery.

8. The first Emperor Penguin egg was obtained on the 1901 trip to Antarctica.

7. As Discovery had no portholes, brass mushroom vents to provide light and air, were let into the deck and they were nicknamed ‘ankle bashers’ for obvious and painful reasons.

8. The Crow’s nest at the top of the main mast is 110 feet up (over 33m).

9. One seal would feed the crew for two days.

10. Two cooks were sacked on the first voyage to Antarctica

11. The crew operated a ‘hot bed’ system where as soon as one got up another got into the bed – nice and cosy!

12. As Naval custom dictated, the men were given their daily ration of rum mixed with water from the ‘grog’ tub after dinner at 1pm.

13. It was so cold in Antarctica that some of the Officers had to chip ice off their mattresses as they were frozen to the side of the ship.

14. After 2 years in the Antarctic, there was 20 miles of ice between Discovery and the open sea and they had to use explosives to blow her free from her icy prison.