Aftermath: Trek to Elephant Island, Voyage to South Georgia

Shackleton’s Journey

The Endurance sailing before getting caught in ice, captured by Frank Hurley
The Endurance sailing before getting caught in ice, captured by Frank Hurley
The crushed Endurance slowly being swallowed by the surrounding ice, captured by Frank Hurley
The crushed Endurance slowly being swallowed by the surrounding ice, captured by Frank Hurley

1. Sinking of the Endurance

During the Sinking of the Endurance, the crew set up shelter across the ice as the ship slowly crumbled under intermittent pressure waves. Aptly, they named their holdout “Ocean Camp” as they drifted with the ice across the sea for two months.1 Grabbing what they could, crew members would return to the ship to retrieve valuables, possessions, and supplies. The ship’s carpenter, Harry McNeish, often scoured the superstructure of the Endurance to dismantle parts of the hull to bring nails and other seaworthy materials back to camp.2 Finally, after weeks of waiting, a pressure wave on the 21st of November drove the mangled stern of the ship almost twenty feet into the air before the ocean swallowed the remainder of the Endurance whole, leaving a hostile, uniform landscape of ice behind.3

The final days of the Endurance while it was above ice, captured by Frank Hurley

2. Shackleton’s Mindset and the Trek to Elephant Island

The choices, and in turn direction, of the stranded crew are easily explained by examining the psyche of their leader, Ernest Shackleton. According to writer Alfred Lansing who interviewed several of the crew afterwards, Shackleton was completely self-assured in the success of rescuing himself and his compatriots. After the multiple failures of the mission, from failing to reach the Antarctic to the destruction of his ship, the idea of another failure became inconceivable in Shackleton’s mind, “…defeat was a reflection of person inadequacy.”4 This attitude made Shackleton a confident and persuasive leader who rallied his crew during the best times. However, when the situation worsened, he became ignorant of the reality surrounding the stranded crew.5 Yet this seemed to be his only vice in the eyes of his fellow seamen. Often his attitude came in part because he felt that it was overwhelmingly his responsibility to, originally lead a successful expedition, and now rescue his crew while maintaining positive spirits, “[he] felt that he had gotten them into their situation, and it was his responsibility to get them out.”6 Shackleton’s mindset was driven by the burden of having twenty-seven lives to care for while, at times, neglecting the advice of the very people he wanted to save which ultimately influenced the many decisions he made between Ocean Camp and his arrival on South Georgia.

“…[the crew] had nurtured in the backs of their minds the attitude Shackleton strove so unceasingly to imbue them with, a basic faith in themselves…”

Alfred Lansing on Shackleton’s leadership capabilities7

Shackleton realized that while he had a stable camp and an abundance of food, staying at Ocean Camp only delayed the inevitable march to land. Therefore, on the twentieth of December, 1915, Shackleton announced his plan to abandon the many supplies at Ocean Camp and trek westward to one of the many islands he hoped was accessible over the ice. Interestingly, writer Alfred Lansing notes the divide this decision caused in the crew with many wanting to stay alongside the food.8 This was a detail Shackleton himself neglected to mention in his book, South!: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton, due to either apathy or simply blissful ignorance about the malcontents within his crew.9 Either way, senior officers sided with their leader and, after a scouting team led by Shackleton himself arrived back at camp to announce that there was safe passage across the ice floes, the crew packed what they could to prepare for their journey. It’s important to note that, due to his intense feelings of responsibility, throughout the journey to Elephant Island Shackleton almost always led scouting parties ahead of his crew to ensure their safety.10 However, while these small journeys ahead usually gave Shackleton vital information about the dangers that he was soon to face, he found on several occasions the ice floes beginning to break up the farther he was from the original Ocean Camp. This culminated in disaster when, what was supposed to be a temporary camp for the night, turned permanent when the ice ahead became completely impassable. Shackleton realized that, at this point, movement on foot would be impossible and they would have to hope the ice drift carried them to land.11

Patience Camp was the name of the crew’s new home. Over the next three months, Shackleton’s men could do little but sit with their thoughts and on rare occasions venture around the ice to hunt for penguins and seals.12 Alongside their large, yet shrinking, stock of food, the crew had also salvaged and dragged three smaller ships from the wreck of the Endurance to Patience Camp: the James Caird, Dudley Docker, and Stancomb Wills.13 However, with the conditions of the surrounding ocean and the immense amount of unstable, yet sizeable ice floes, Shackleton realized launching any of the ships would be an effort in futility. Therefore, the crew huddled around their captain and navigator, Frank Worsley, who announced as they were closing in first on Paulet Island, then the Danger Islands, and lastly Joinville Island over the course of several weeks. Each time, the ice floes, directed by the wind, avoided each of the hopefully crew’s destinations until they neared Elephant Island which they realized would be their last reasonable chance of reaching land.14 Even under the threat of their ice floe disintegrating with the crew on it and the sighting of Elephant Island on the horizon, Shackleton decided to wait for the ice to drift closer to land. Unfortunately, the rapidly deteriorating conditions of the ice forced his hand as large cracks appeared, threatening to divide the camp and dump their supplies into the sea.15 Upon seeing a clearing in the weather and the ocean tides, Shackleton ordered an emergency evacuation as twenty-eight men and their supplies piled into three boats and headed for Elephant Island.16

3. Preparation, Launch, and Voyage of the James Caird

“The beach on which Shackleton in the [James Caird] and we in the [Dudley Docker] had landed was instantly recognised by Sir Ernest as being uninhabitable…”

From the diary of Thomas Orde-Lees, recounting the landing on Elephant Island17

After the several day-long journey that tested even the most resilient crew members, Shackleton found only disappointment on Elephant Island.18 The land was dominated by cliff faces, inland glaciers, and windswept beaches that kept the crew exposed to the elements at virtually all times. Storms collapsed tents and threatened to sweep boats out to sea and, in one instance, some of the cook’s pots flew across camp and were carried into the ocean by the wind. Upon consulting with his senior officers, Shackleton decided his best chance to find help for the stranded crew was to sail eight hundred miles to South Georgia and find a whaling vessel.19 Under McNeish’s guidance, the James Caird was modified and reinforced to survive the journey through one of the most treacherous stretches of ocean on the planet.20 Shackleton realized his attempt at salvation was more akin to suicide as, for several days, a small, twenty-two-foot boat would have to survive a sea that had consistent 60-foot waves, each of which was more than enough to capsize a boat of that size.21 Without any other options, however, on April 23rd, Shackleton picked the crew of Worsley, Crean, McNeish, McCarthy, and Vincent to accompany him. The next day, the James Caird departed, destined for South Georgia having left Second-in-Command Frank Wild in control of the stranded party.22

Landing on Elephant Island, by Frank Hurley
Landing on Elephant Island, by Frank Hurley
Shackleton departing from Elephant Island, by Frank Hurley
Shackleton departing from Elephant Island, by Frank Hurley

Shackleton, always one to understate the circumstances, called the sixteen-day venture across the sea as “one of supreme strife”.23 Every day was a new challenge the crew faced and, through sheer determination, overcame. Their routine simplified into calculating their position when possible and bailing at essentially all waking hours as the water simply overwhelmed the small James Caird. The physical consequences of the journey became painfully obvious to the crew early on as any meaningful amount of sleep was nearly impossible and they developed rashes and saltwater boils from the constant sea spray.24 Yet Shackleton realized that the worst was still yet to come. On April 26th, the crew measured that they were just below the 60th parallel, an area that marks the divide between the “Raving Fifties” and “Screaming Sixties”. Sailors knew this patch of ocean as the Drake Passage, where the most dangerous sailing conditions in the world are found. Hurricane-force winds and 60-foot waves became a daily occurrence as the James Caird stayed afloat only by the ability of its crew.25 The remainder of the journey continued slowly as the effect of the Drake Passage followed the ship until South Georgia. Only a few days outside away from their destination, the crew discovered their water had been infected by the sea. After struggling against the waves and insatiable thirst, Shackleton landed on South Georgia on May 11th.26 According to historian Caroline Alexander, “…the voyage of the James Caird would be ranked as one of the greatest boat journeys ever accomplished.”27

“I called to the other men that the sky was clearing, and then a moment later I realized that… was not a rift in the clouds but the white crest of an enormous wave. During twenty-six years’ experience… I had not encountered a wave so gigantic.”

Shackleton recounting his crossing of the Drake Passage28

Survival on Elephant Island: Crew Diaries

Picture of the stranded crew after Shackleton’s departure, captured by Frank Hurley

As Shackleton’s small crew made their way in search of civilization, the remaining crew members struggled through the desperate conditions on Elephant Island as they waited for rescue. Thomas Orde-Lees, the motor expert-turned-storekeeper, kept detailed accounts of his experiences as the elements tightened their grip on the stranded sailors.

Expecting to wait only a month for rescue, the crew settled into a rhythm of rationed meals, hunting for food, and keeping themselves occupied with daily chores.29 One month turned into two, then three, and finally, the fourth month came with no sign of rescue. Much of the crew had resigned themselves to believing the James Caird had capsized months earlier. Rationing was extreme, with Orde-Lees stating, “I would give half my income for the rest of my life” just for a loaf of bread.30 Much like other desperate expeditions before them, some of the crew realized supplies would not hold much longer. As one of the crew confessed to Orde-Lees after their rescue, the day Shackleton arrived they had planned to kill and eat him.31 This was the state the crew found themselves in during the four-month wait on Elephant Island.

Rescue Attempts and Subsequent Failures

After arriving on South Georgia, Shackleton immediately began making plans for rescue as he realized the dire situation that could unfold on Elephant Island. He quickly acquired the Southern Sky, a steel whaling vessel, by agreeing with the owner to cover all insurance costs. Shackleton even found several willing crew members among the whalers stationed on South Georgia, all of which clamored to be part of the rescue party.32 Unfortunately, among heavy pack ice and in a ship that would not survive collisions in such a crowded sea, Shackleton was forced to call off the attempt.33 Desperately, he contacted the British government and several South American countries as he pleaded for funding and a ship. Britain agreed to finance any ship he could find and began drawing up plans for a rescue.34 Next, the Uruguayan government loaned Shackleton a trawler which also failed to reach Elephant Island.35 The third attempt with the schooner Emma failed quickly as the engines blew, however, the tug boat Yelcho which assisted the Emma, was still functional. Even though it was a small, steel ship incapable of managing icy seas, Shackleton gambled the safety of himself and the Yelcho to reach the stranded crew. Ultimately, his gamble did not pay off as they abandoned yet another attempt.36 Finally, Shackleton ordered the Yelcho back out to sea on August 25th and, on August 30th, managed to rescue all stranded crew.37 On Shackleton’s part, it took four attempts amid pleading with foreign governments and creating rescue plans with the British admiralty to secure the lives of his men.

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Significance

Works Cited

  1. Shackleton, “South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance,” 110.
  2. Lansing, “Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage,” 80.
  3. Lansing, “Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage,” 83.
  4. Lansing, “Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage,” 103.
  5. Lansing, “Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage,” 103.
  6. Lansing, “Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage,” 73.
  7. Lansing, “Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage,” 100.
  8. Lansing, “Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage,” 90.
  9. Shackleton, “South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance,” 117.
  10. Lansing, “Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage,” 96.
  11. Shackleton, “South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance,” 123.
  12. Shackleton, “South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance,” 123-124.
  13. Lansing, “Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage,” 138.
  14. Shackleton, “South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance,” 133-134.
  15. Shackleton, “South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance,” 139.
  16. Shackleton, “South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance,” 141.
  17. Orde-Lees, “Personal Diary”, 3.
  18. Shackleton, “South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance,” 162.
  19. Shackleton, “South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance,” 174.
  20. Shackleton, “South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance,” 180.
  21. Lansing, “Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage,” 187.
  22. Shackleton, “South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance,” 183.
  23. Shackleton, “South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance,” 187.
  24. Lansing, “Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage,” 224.
  25. Lansing, “Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage,” 225.
  26. Shackleton, “South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance,” 204.
  27. Alexander, “The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition,” 153.
  28. Shackleton, “South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance,” 197.
  29. Orde-Lees, “Personal Diary”, 6.
  30. Orde-Lees, “Personal Diary”, 7.
  31. Orde-Lees, “Personal Diary”, 9.
  32. Shackleton, “South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance,” 236.
  33. Shackleton, “South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance,” 237.
  34. Shackleton, “South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance,” 238.
  35. Shackleton, “South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance,” 240.
  36. Shackleton, “South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance,” 242.
  37. Shackleton, “South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance,” 243.

Media

Hurley, Frank. Extraordinary 1915 Photos from Ernest Shackleton’s Disastrous Antarctic Expedition. Photograph. History.com. December 6, 2020. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://www.history.com/news/shackleton-endurance-expedition-antarctica-photos.

“The End of Endurance, 1915 | BFI National Archive.” January 31, 2019. Educational Video, 2:53. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKMw3jX2asI.

Orde-Lees, Thomas. Personal Diary. 1914-1917. From Dartmouth Libraries. https://archives-manuscripts.dartmouth.edu/repositories/2/resources/2266.

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