Antarctic mission goes boldly where no man has gone before

TwoBritish ships have gone further south than any other vessels in recorded marine history, beating the achievement of Captain James Cook fifty years ago by 214 nautical miles.

The unprecedented southerly voyage is a personal triumph for James Weddell, the captain of the brig, Jane, who is on his third mission to the Antarctic in the space of just four years. The second ship is the cutter, Beaufoy, led by Matthew Brisbane

The ships reached 74.15 South and longitude 34.16’.45” West, 532 miles south of the Antarctic Circle on 20 February before a decision to turn back, with no land in sight.

The two crews are said to be “naturally much disappointed” at not finding a southern continent. Land was first sighted by a Russian expedition in 1820, and there are disputed claims that an American captain set foot on a new landmass in 1821.