Posted by Laurence Monkhouse on September 08, 2006 at 07:18:58 from 80.3.128.6 user Laurence_.
In Reply to: Why Arctic and not Antarctic ? posted by John Giddy on September 08, 2006 at 04:34:02:
Why, in WH, was Nansen and the Fram the model?
Ransome had actually met Nansen in Riga and greatly admired him. He says in the Autobiography: "I had several meetings with Nansen, a hero since my childhood...the most civilised person of his generation...imperturbably doing what he knew was right...."
Also the 'Fram' was deliberately frozen into the ice, to be used as the expedition base, not just a means to reach a base. The Southern Polar expeditions tried to avoid their ships getting icebound, indeed when it happened to Shackleton's 'Endurance' she was crushed and sank.