Penola

About

The Penola, originally laid down in Finisterre, Brittany, was a fishing schooner named Alcyon, and was later acquired by John Rymill for the British Graham Land Expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula in 1934. Constructed in 1905 and launched in 1908 from the yard of E. Conne Kerity in France, this vessel boasted specifications well-suited for polar voyages.

She measured 106 feet (32 m) at the waterline, had a beam of 24 feet (7.3 m), and a draft of 11 feet 6 inches (3.51 m), amounting to a tonnage of around 138 tons. In terms of her rigging, the ship was designed as a three-masted topsail schooner. At some point she was purchased and converted into a private yacht named Navaho.

For enhanced maneuverability and power, she was outfitted with two 50-horsepower Junkers diesel engines. Upon her acquisition for the expedition, Rymill renamed the vessel after his family farm, Penola, located in South Australia. Given its robust construction, the Penola was inherently well-adapted for the challenges of the polar seas, and it had an impressive carrying capacity relative to her size.

The Penola (capable of a modest 4 knots) was the main transportation and most of the party travelled from England...