Why didn't Shackleton head for the Falklands?

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Greenheart

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Just watched K. Branagh as Ernest Shackleton, struggling as far as Elephant Island, then boldly heading for the whaling station at South Georgia, for some sort of rescue/help, which the whalers duly managed.

Great show, about a great man, but looking at Google maps, I can't help thinking the Falklands are lots closer to Elephant Island, and surely no less usefully inhabited? Why did he sail all the way to South Georgia?
 
The nearest port was Stanley in the Falkland Islands, 540 nautical miles (1,000 km; 620 mi) away, but unreachable due to the prevailing westerly winds.[11] Another possibility was to head for Deception Island, at the western end of the South Sandwich chain. Although it was uninhabited, Admiralty records indicated that this island held stores for shipwrecked mariners, and was also visited from time to time by whalers.[14] However, reaching it would also involve a journey against the prevailing winds—though in less open seas—with no certainty that rescue would arrive in time. After discussions with the expedition's second-in-command, Frank Wild, and ship's captain Frank Worsley, Shackleton decided to attempt to reach the whaling stations of South Georgia, to the north-east, with the help of following winds. This would mean a much longer boat journey, of 800 nautical miles (1,500 km; 920 mi) across the Southern Ocean, in conditions of rapidly approaching winter, but it appeared to offer the best possibility of rapid relief. As Shackleton later wrote, "a boat party might make the voyage and be back with relief within a month, provided that the sea was clear of ice, and the boat survive the great seas".[11]

Direct from wikipedia, but it's well worth reading Shackleton's book 'South'.

I doubt that there's anybody on the planet these days who could match such a feat of navigation & seamanship as the men in that boat.

Fascinating and awe-inspiring stuff !

Andy
 
It's not just the Nav & seamanship - just think about the conditions in a 25' whaler - basically a ship's lifeboat temporarily part decked over with packing crates (think pallets for a modern equivalent wood).

It's quite a feat of survival - without todays' fancy fabrics & clothing, no neoprene gloves or nylon fleeces, the only stove a primus balanced in the bottom of the boat. No electric gizmos whatsoever.
 
The whole thing looked hellish. They must have been very tough guys. SWMBO just mentioned that today (UK, mid-June) doesn't look like a nice day for a walk on the beach. Hard to imagine the far-south Atlantic, with every breaking wave thickening the ice on the whaler's box-wood decks. Possibly even worse for the chaps hunched round whale-blubber lamps on Elephant Island.

Did you ever Google the construction methods for the Endurance? That was one tough ship. Hard to believe it could be sunk, even by the crushing forces of ice-flows.
 
Shackletons journey is one of those achievements that seems almost unreal in its scale and enormity. It just goes to show that if you make the right decisions and possess fundamental skills you can improve your survival chances dramatically.

Tim
 
dancrane said:
Just watched K. Branagh as Ernest Shackleton, struggling as far as Elephant Island, then boldly heading for the whaling station at South Georgia, for some sort of rescue/help, which the whalers duly managed.

Great show, about a great man, but looking at Google maps, I can't help thinking the Falklands are lots closer to Elephant Island, and surely no less usefully inhabited? Why did he sail all the way to South Georgia?
Click to expand...

I had always thought that the choice of destination was as much about the prevailing winds as the distance. In anything N of W Elephant Is to the Falklands would become a beat, almost certainly unachievable in James Caird; South Georgia by contrast could be reached (ha ha) on a run or a reach, much more realistic for a boat of that kind with a very tired crew. The Falklands might well be closer as the crow flies but it would take longer to get there even in a weatherly modern yacht I suspect.
 
Much has been written about the causes of the shipwreck, and who did what -and why - thereafter. This is the definitive book, written by the ship's captain and navigator:

Shack-1.jpg


'A breath-taking story of courage, skill and determination under the most appalling conditions' - Sir Edmund Hillary

'One of the great survival stories of all time'
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:)
 
The whaler, the James Caird is located at Dulwich College and on display.

It is on my list to view. Hopefully sailing down the Thames to South Bank Marina.
 
Searush said:
It's not just the Nav & seamanship - just think about the conditions in a 25' whaler - basically a ship's lifeboat temporarily part decked over with packing crates (think pallets for a modern equivalent wood).

It's quite a feat of survival - without todays' fancy fabrics & clothing, no neoprene gloves or nylon fleeces, the only stove a primus balanced in the bottom of the boat. No electric gizmos whatsoever.
Click to expand...

Followed by the crossing of a mountain range without proper equipment. After achieving that he then had a lot of stress organizing a ship to rescue the remainder of his crew.

A remarkable man and leader.
 
About modern clothing, Tim Severin (sp?)in his account of the Brendan voyage, reconned that as they were always wet, trad materials like oiled wool were better than modern stuff. But that was before Gortex and other developments.

Also, back then, people had a completely different expectation of life. Signing up for such a voyage offered great opportunity, if you got back. And seafaring was pretty tough anyway.
A
 
read endurance last year while I was down in the falklands with work. awesome, just awsome. I had taken a copy of 'fastnet, force 10' to read-which I thought was quite a survival story. I lent that book to my navigator to read and he gave me his copy of endurance in return. I literally read it from cover to cover and was awake reading through the night. its one of those books that changes your life.

On that detachment I flew down from the falklands to recce south georgia and the south sandwich isles. You can see the old whaling station at grytviken (Or however you spell it) from the air. eerie ghost town of rusting whale oil tanks. I attach a few photos I took. the first 3 show the the sheer terrain climbed by shakleton. the fourth you can see grytviken (uninhabited). the last shows the glacier and you might notice two huge sperm whales just beneath the surface on the left of photo.

my comment on this thread is that the falklands feel a long way south. the flight down to georgia takes a long while and thats at 600 miles an hour. yet further south. Even flying there today feels like the ends of the earth. no air traffic. no comms save an hourly HF check. Its so bleak, even today. And shackleton went north to get to georgia! it must have felt so isolated down there.

Somebody told me that the climb he and tom crean did across georgia with nothing but some old rope was attempted by modern climbers + kit and they couldn't do it any quicker. He did not loose a single man on that expidition.

of course most of them bought it in the great war after getting through that. I think shackleton had a heart attack at a young age, due im sure to living off blubber seals and penguins for several years. what a man though. it makes me shiver just thinking about it.

anyway, enjoy the pics guys. be thankful for the warmth and food you have!
 
poo :( I have just looked at the photos as I have attached them and you cant zoom in enough on here to see anything. If anyone is interested I can email them in higher res and you can zoom right in. I also have loads from that flight and many more in the south atlantic. regards.

no longer in ownership of a contessa contessaman.
 
There was a programme on TV last year showing a group of Marines attempting to repeat his mountain crossing. Only a few of them made it, the rest had to be rescued by helicopter.
 
PeterR said:
There was a programme on TV last year showing a group of Marines attempting to repeat his mountain crossing. Only a few of them made it, the rest had to be rescued by helicopter.
Click to expand...

Although, if there were no helicopter and the choice was to complete the crossing or to die, one wonders whether they might have found it possible after all.

Pete
 
DownWest said:
About modern clothing, Tim Severin (sp?)in his account of the Brendan voyage, reconned that as they were always wet, trad materials like oiled wool were better than modern stuff. But that was before Gortex and other developments.

Also, back then, people had a completely different expectation of life. Signing up for such a voyage offered great opportunity, if you got back. And seafaring was pretty tough anyway.
A
Click to expand...

Family tradition has it that grandfather handmade the boots for the expedition. Not sure if it is true though and difficult to ask him as he died 70 years ago.
 
Slight Fred Drift, but if tales of almost unbelievable derring do, fortitude and endurance rock your boat, try 'The Worst Journey in the World' by Apsley Cherry-Garrard. Beautifully written, fascinatingly informative and very moving, too. Rated by some in the know as the best book of travel writing ever.

Cherry-Garrard was on the Scott's ill fated expedition to the Antarctic (but not the fatal final trip to the Pole - that was only part of the reason they were there). The 'Worst Journey' is only a part of the book (which covers the several years of the expedition), but it was a five week absolute horror of a trek in the dark, and ferocious cold and wind, of the middle of the Antarctic winter. (Anyone who thinks that modern clothing and materials are no better than traditional ones will surely change their minds after reading this.)
 
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