A man from Midhurst has been recognised with two distinguished awards from the Royal Canadian Geographical Society for his part in locating the wreck of Ernest Shackleton's final ship, Quest.
David Mearns received the Quest Medal, honouring all discovery team members, and the Bernier Medal, which acknowledges significant individual contributions to the society.
A renowned shipwreck hunter, Mearns has made numerous remarkable discoveries since launching his career in the 1980s.
In accepting the recognition, Mearns spoke of the importance of the team of people who came together to find Quest, “Everyone who was on the expedition team had a connection to Shackleton through research, family ties, or a fascination with his leadership qualities. Shackleton always put human life first, above all else, and it is why people admire him more than a century after his death. The RCGS punches way above its weight and I couldn’t be more proud of what we accomplished as a true team and I am determined to do everything I can for the next expedition to be even more consequential for “our” Society,” said David Mearns.
The initial discovery in June was covered by more than 2,000 media outlets worldwide including Reuters, the BBC, the Canadian Press, the Globe and Mail, the New York Times, CNN, the Times of London, CBC, CTV, and Global Television. About half of the funds needed to mount a second expedition to get close up footage of Quest has been secured, the RCGS is actively fundraising to bring the highest quality imagery possible of the historic shipwreck to a global audience.
In addition to celebrating the Quest discovery, the Geographica Dinner brought together leaders in exploration, science, culture and business to further the RCGS’s mission of deepening Canadians’ connection to their country. The RCGS is one of Canada’s largest educational and media charities that publishes Canadian Geographic magazine, the country’s #1 magazine with a monthly readership of 4.3M people, with a network of 28,000 teachers that use its lesson plans and giant floor maps in the classroom.
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