I just finished reading "Endurance", Alfred Lansing's classic account of Shackleton's doomed quest. Harrowing is exactly the word to describe it. And even more harrowing than the trip to Elephant Island was the 800-mile voyage Shackleton took with five other crewmen from Elephant Island back to civilization in South Georgia. To navigate it he had to cross the dreaded Drake Passage (the latitudes between Antarctica and South America where winds swirl unimpeded by large landmasses) in an open lifeboat relying only on a compass and occasional stars in life threatening weather. Upon arriving in South Georgia they ditched on the uninhabited South shore and had to cross mountains by foot to reach the whaling station. All survived.
And then, Shackleton not only organized the rescue party for the three crewmen he had left behind on the other side of the island, but also organized and led all four attempts to rescue the crew left on Elephant Island.
And of course, once back in England, he and most of his crew volunteered to serve in World War One. He was denied that, but several of his crew died in that war. They already had offered to do that when, IIRC in Buenos Aires they heard war had broken out, but had been told by the king to continue the expedition.
> once back in England, he and most of his crew volunteered to serve in World War One.
A very sobering account is, after being cut off from the rest of the world, arriving at the South Georgia whaling station he asked "Tell me, when was the war over".
The date was May 1916.
"The war is not over" he answered "Millions are being killed. Europe is mad. The World is mad".....The reader may not realise quite how difficult it was for us to envisage nearly two years of the most stupendous war of history.... poison gas and liquid fire, the submarine warfare, the Gallipoli campaign.
Above text is from Shackleton's 'South', his own account of the journey.
If I recall correctly, he offered his boat in the service of the crown for the war while sailing for the Southern Hemisphere but recieved a one word telegram in reply: "Proceed".
As a young officer candidate in the US Navy, I took a navigation class co-taught by a very weathered quartermaster (QMCS) whose love was celestial navigation. We spent several days on the subject, and ended with a case study of Shackleton's journey to South Georgia. There's nothing like a fascinating subject taught by an experienced and enthusiastic expert.
My partner’s great uncle Perce was on that expedition, he was a stowaway and eventually became carpenter and cook. He adopted the ships cat who was called ‘Mrs Chippy’ because it followed him everywhere (chippy being slang for carpenter). Lost most of his toes to frostbite but survived to make it back to Britain. His first cousin was still alive until a few years ago and she recounted him saying that he would never leave Newport again.
The journey of Shackleton and his crew is one of the most exciting stories of survival and leadership I’ve ever encountered. Shackleton himself wrote an autobiographical account, and its copyright has expired, so it’s now in the public domain:
And loads of luck. There were so many occasions where if something had gone only slightly wrong they would all have died. But you have to admire their persistence to never give up. Not giving up is all you can do.
Complete tangent (because I didn't recognize those lyrics so clicked your link and see their from a 2004 album):
Beastie boys up to and including Ill Communication were one of the best bands of the modern era, both in terms of having good music and in defining new genres of music. Paul's Boutique is one of the top 5 albums of the 20th century I'd argue.
And then they really became boring. Everything was just a lame copy of some previous success. Intergalactic, etc, just completely uninteresting.
You’re entitled to your own opinion obviously and this is hardly the forum to discuss it but I don’t agree at all. Hello Nasty is a close second to Paul’s Boutique for me.
The Book "South" which is something like an edited version of Shackelton's diary, has this journey in reasonable detail. It had a profound impact on me; that people could be that tough and resilient against massive odds. I think about it often when I am feeling stressed - how would someone like Shackelton handle this so the fear didn't impair their judgement.
There were a couple of points I keep thinking about:
SPOILER ALERT
1) Where they are navigating broken ice on a heaving ocean and Shackelton casually mentions that he hadn't slept for over 100 hours as he was trying to pick a safe route through the ice (I expect people would argue that is highly likely to kill/drive you insane).
2) Where a wave breaks on top of their small boat that is so high that they can't hear it yet and Shackelton initially thinks the white crest way above them is actually a break in the sky indicating clearing weather.
And I have a sore neck because my keyboard/monitor arrangement isn't optimized.
If you enjoy Shackleton’s story, the you might enjoy “Alone on the Ice” about Mawson’s expedition. I found both to be compelling stories but Mawson’s is the one that just keeps coming back to me. I won’t ruin it for the prospective reader, but it is absolutely stunning what was endured.
While it's a cute saying, it's not entirely fair. Luck also plays a large rôle.
The Antarctic could perfectly well have killed Amundsen, too, just like it killed Scott. It's true his journey was better planned and prepared, but that didn't mean his success -- or indeed survival -- was guaranteed.
“For scientific discovery give me Scott; for speed and efficiency of travel give me Amundsen; but when disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton.” – Antarctic explorer, Sir Raymond Priestly
Scott brought machines and ponies to Antarctica. He brought an additional crew member without having sufficient resources for him. He also had the men sled-haul supplies. Amundsen brought dogs and just enough crew. The dogs pulled the sleds and the crew ate the dogs as they went along, and as according to plan. Amundsen earned his victory.
As far as this book claims, aside from being resilient and brave, Scott seems to have bungled his way through most of his life. The fatal expedition seems to have been a long string of bad decisions and underestimation.
I feel like the book is somewhat biased against Scott, but it also seems like he gets a lot wrong, compared to someone like Amundsen who really set the bar for Antarctic exploration and preparation.
Siberian ponies were regularly used in Antarctica. Shackleton himself had used them in an earlier expedition, and a German expedition contemporaneous to Scott's was using them also.
This is hardly comparable, but I'm rereading the Master and Commander series (Patrick O'Brian) and you just can't beat that for adventure. Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin go through the Napoleonic Wars together, traveling literally all over the world, and having adventures fully as exciting as Shackleton's, although most of them don't involve 18 months of hell. It was a movie starring Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany.
O'Brian literally spent his whole life learning about that period. You can find an interview with him on YouTube. The thing I find incredible is: some people took him out sailing for real (I think one was Tom Perkins) and said that he wasn't really that great a sailor.
What I like most about the film is how great the French commander also is. He's absolutely no push over and as devious and clever as Jack Aubrey.
I notice the same thing in great sporting events. A push over is fun but the best games, matches and races for me are where the opponents are evenly matched and really have to battle it out.
What was most interesting to me about Shackleton’s story was how dangerous the leopard seals were. Never realized they were deadly. I talked to a diving instructor about this and he said seals were like Rottweilers with fins.
