Off Again in an Open Boat

With no rescue likely, Shackleton decides to make for South Georgia in the strongest lifeboat. The island lies 800 miles (1,300 km) away across the world’s stormiest seas.

He chooses a small team to go with him. You were an expert navigator on the way to Elephant Island, so Shackleton picks you, three sailors, and the ship’s carpenter.

You set off from Elephant Island on April 24, 1916. As you launch the lifeboat, waves almost capsize her, and two sailors tumble overboard. Your superstitious shipmates take this as a bad omen.

Above, the carpenter raises the boat’s sides with wooden planks and nails on a canvas deck. The boat’s seams are sealed with oil paint and seal blood.

On Elephant Island your shipmates transform the upturned boats into a crude shelter, which they name the Snuggery. There is little room inside, and the men are packed together. They survive on a diet of limpet (a mollusk) and seaweed stew.

Based on the book You Wouldn't Want to Be a Polar Explorer!
Copyright 2002 - the Salariya Book Company