Lot Essay
Shackleton and his crew abandoned the Endurance on 27 October, 1915 and camped and trekked on the drifting ice-floe, finally launching their three boats with the break-up of the pack on 8 April 1916, intending at first to head north in an attempt to reach Deception Island. 'The first glimmerings of dawn came at 6 a.m., and two hours later the pack opened and we launched our boats. The James Caird was in the lead, with the Stancomb Wills next and the Dudley Docker in the rear. Our way was across the open sea, and soon after noon we swung round the north end of the pack and laid a course to the westward. Immediately our boats began to make heavy weather. They shipped sprays which froze as they fell and covered men and gear with ice. It was soon clear we could not proceed safely, so I put the James Caird round and ran for the shelter of the pack again, the other boats following. By 3 p.m. we were back inside the outer line of ice where the sea was not breaking, but all hands were cold and tired.' (Sir E. Shackleton, op. cit., p. 58).