Famous French Polar explorer and crew drowned when ship founders in Iceland storm. Sailing on his last voyage, Dr Jean Baptiste Charcott, "Shackleton of France" and 29 members of the crew of his famous Polar exploring ship the Pourquoi-Pas (449 tons) were drowned when the vessel sank in a storm in Faxa Bay, Iceland. The ship ran aground, but terrific waves breaking over her prevented the launching of the lifeboats. Every man was washed overboard, and only one survived. Dr Charcot was 69, led two expeditions to the South Polar regions. Photo shows: The "Pourquoi Pas" in the ice off Greenland. 17 September 1936