![]() ![]() ![]() Shackleton and his crew members needed to cross the mountainous island in order to reach a whaling station on the northern side. Landing them on the southern side of their destination, their journey was not over. The journey took 16 days across one of the stormiest stretches of ocean in the world, becoming what is one of the most astonishing small boat journeys in history. He undertook a mission with five of his crew to cross almost 800 miles of rough seas to get to South Georgia, in the hopes to reach an inhabited whaling station at Grytviken. With no chance of rescue, rations nearly gone and stranded far from civilization and any chance of ship encounters, Shackleton realized that the chances of rescue were slim and devised a plan. After 497 days across rough, frozen seas, they made they made landfall on Elephant Island, setting up camp in a place they called Point Wild, after Frank Wild who had scouted the location. His ability to read his men, understand their emotions and keep up morale was remarkable. What kept the crew going is a tribute to Shackleton and his leadership. Hauling their lifeboats across the frozen landscape, the men were forced into the small crafts due to the thinning ice, camping on large ice floes to rest. Isolated on a drifting pack of ice, the men marched westward to where they thought they would find the nearest land. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |