A renowned maritime archaeologist known for finding the wreck of Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship will speak onboard Cunard’s 185th anniversary voyage this summer.
Mensun Bound, who is nicknamed the “Indiana Jones of the Deep”, will journey from Southampton to New York on a seven-night cruise from June 24 to July 1.
Mr Bound made headlines in March 2022 with the discovery of Sir Shackleton’s ship Endurance in “remarkable condition”, after it had been crushed by ice and sunk in November 1915.
It is Mr Bound’s fifth trip on a Cunard ship, and he told the Echo that he will be talking about his expedition and fielding questions from passengers onboard.
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“I usually start with the day we found the Endurance and how we found the Endurance,” he said.
“The sight of the ship on the seabed was incredible, we were lock-jawed, wide-eyed.”
Mr Bound explained that the weather had miraculously changed on the day they found the ship, which was submerged in ice.
“The captain said to me, if we don’t get out of here soon, we could end up on the wrong side of history, like the Endurance.
“And then there was two amazing days. I woke up at 5.30am and usually what I saw out of my window was like looking into a washing machine, but that day there was nothing.”
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After sending down a search vehicle, Mr Bound said that his crew was “punching the air, whooping and celebrating” that they had found the ship.
“We knew we were the luckiest guys in the world for seeing the Endurance,” he said.
“We went in pretty much complete darkness. I didn’t want to put all the lights because that would’ve been sucking up battery like no tomorrow, so we put one light on.
“The first thing I saw was the ship’s rudder and it was right under the tuck of the stern, I couldn’t believe it.”
The ship was in “remarkable condition”, he said.
Mensun said: “We couldn’t believe it because the ship’s wheel was still there, absolutely intact.
“Through the spokes of the wheel, you could read the ship’s compass.”
The anniversary voyage on Queen Mary 2 leaves Southampton on June 24.
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