Discovery

Dundee 2026 #5

I didn't know that, in a dry dock right next to Dundee's V&A, sits one of the great historic ships, RSS Discovery. She was built in Dundee and launched in 1901, the first ship designed specifically for Antarctic scientific research. Built with heavily reinforced wooden hulls to withstand pack ice, she was one of the last three-masted wooden ships to be built in this country, though she also has a steam engine. She carried Captain Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton on their groundbreaking 1901-1904 Discovery Expedition, where she spent two years trapped in ice before she was freed. In 1925 she was designated a Royal Research Ship and returned to Antarctica to conduct extensive oceanographic studies to conserve whale populations. She has quite a history beyond that, which you can read about HERE.

Alongside the ship, there is a large and very interesting museum to explore, which I found much more fascinating than I expected to. It details not only Discovery's history but also various other Antarctic explorations and the ships involved, with lots of details, photographs, videos and artefacts. Many of these are well-documented and the stories of the men involved and the hardships endured are legendary. 

Once you've explored the museum you're free to board the ship and marvel at the strength of its construction - layer upon layer of massive oak planks and other woods, carefully designed to withstand the harsh conditions. You can tour the crew's quarters - the huge table in the officers' mess:

Captain Scott's cabin:

A bunk room for the sailors:

I was intrigued by the ingenuity of the design. 'Salt boxes' opened into the space between the inner and outer hulls. These were literally filled with rock salt, to soak up any moisture and preserve the timber. 

It asked you to consider things like what provisions they took with them, and how the holds were packed with supplies so that the ship was balanced and stable. 

I couldn't help but marvel at the resilience of the men - sailors and scientists - on the expeditions. They didn't have our advanced technology so, even in things like the clothes they wore, they had to be resourceful and ingenious to deal with the harsh conditions. They were geologists, naturalists,  oceanographers and photographers and the research they did was foundational to our understanding of the mysterious Antarctic region.