Built in 1900 for Captain Scott's Antarctic expedition of 1901, Discovery's dramatic life spans a century of adventure, exploration and danger. This book portrays the heroism and determination of the explorers and scientist who sailed in her to meet the challenge of the unknown. Confronting the turbulent Southern ocean, or wintering inshore with Discovery locked in eight feet of ice, the stories of their struggles almost eclipses the importance of their pioneering works. Discovery's subsequent history was just as eventful. After her expedition to the Antarctic, the Hudson Bay company used her as its annual supply ship from London. During World War I she ferried vital food and supplies to the Atlantic ports of France, and in 1915 she made a hazardous voyage to Archangel in north Russia to transport munitions to the Eastern Front. In 1916 she was sent south once more in a dramatic bid by the Admiralty to rescue Shackleton's men, marooned on Elephant Island after the sinking of Endurance. She is now in Dundee, having been fully restored.