ENDURANCE
Dr Grabow's 2022 Special Pipes
In 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton, a renowned British Antarctic explorer, led an expedition on the ship ‘Endurance’, with the objective of crossing the Antarctic continent from one side to the other via the South Pole, a feat never before accomplished. However, an early onset of winter caused the ship to be trapped in ice and over a series of months was crushed and finally sank before reaching the Antarctic continent. The crew escaped and for months camped on the ice before sailing in three lifeboats to Elephant Island. In a desperate attempt to find rescue, a small group including Shackleton and his New Zealand captain, Frank Worsley – a renowned navigator – set sail in one of the semi-open lifeboats – the ‘James Caird’ – for a Norwegian whaling station on South Georgia Island some 800 miles away. Their voyage through perhaps the roughest, coldest, most dangerous seas in the world became known as one of the greatest feats of navigation in maritime history. It was successful and all of Shackleton’s party left on Elephant Island were subsequently rescued.
A Truly Committed Pipe Smoker
One of the group who were rescued from Elephant Island was a pipe-smoking Canadian, William Blakewell – known as ‘Mac’. When ‘Mac’ finally ran out of tobacco he broke two of his well-used pipes into little pieces and boiled the pieces with a local, tough, dry grass which absorbed the flavour of his old pipes. He dried the grass, finely chopped it up, put it in his remaining pipe and lit it. He shared his lit pipe around and his colleagues enjoyed what become known as genuine ‘Elephant Island Mixture’.
We do not know of a more committed pipe-smoker anywhere in history than ‘Mac’ and his commitment to his pipe smoking so aptly reflects the name of the expedition’s ship and the bravery of the expedition members. And so we named this year’s Dr Grabow pipe special ‘ENDURANCE’.
As with our previous Special Pipes, “ENDURANCE” comes in two shapes, straight and bent with both smooth and rusticated finishes in a dark, rich black stain.
The price of the smooth finish shapes is $45.00 and the rusticated versions is $44.00.
Both come in a velvet presentation bag.
Dr Grabow’s past special pipes have commemorated historic events and the actions of brave people. The men of the ‘Endurance’ and their resolute bravery in the face of huge adversity are fitting additions to our special pipes collection and we know that the ‘Endurance’ will be a valued addition to your pipe collection.
Dr Grabow Pipes
