The Discovery

I met up today in Dundee with my nursing pals from a long time ago and after lunch at the DCA we went round the Discovery, the ship that took Captain Scott and Ernest Shackleton (and a few others) to the Antarctic in 1901. The Discovery was built in Dundee and was the first ship that was designed specifically for the Antarctic, influenced by the design of whaling ships, with a wooden hull which withstood the pressures of ice better than a metal hull of that time. It was primarily a sailing ship but had engines which could be used if necessary. Here's more about the ship from Wikipedia, and also a long article about the Discovery expedition with a brief history of polar exploration prior to that. It was a sunny day but chilly which gave it a bit of Antarctic atmosphere.