James Caird (boat)
Encyclopedia
The voyage of the James Caird was an open boat journey from Elephant Island in the South Shetland Islands
to South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean, a distance of 800 nmi (1,481.6 km; 920.6 mi). Undertaken by Sir Ernest Shackleton and five companions, its objective was to obtain rescue for the main body of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
of 1914–17, trapped on Elephant Island after the loss of its ship Endurance
. History has come to consider the James Caird's voyage as one of the greatest open boat journeys ever accomplished.
In October 1915 Endurance had been crushed and sunk by pack ice in the Weddell Sea
, leaving Shackleton and the crew stranded on an unreliable ice surface thousands of miles from safety. During the following months the party drifted northward until April 1916, when the floe on which they were camped broke up. They then made their way in lifeboats to the remote and inaccessible Elephant Island, where Shackleton quickly decided that the most effective means of obtaining relief for his beleaguered party would be to sail one of the lifeboats to South Georgia.
Of the three lifeboats, the James Caird was deemed the strongest and most likely to survive the journey. It had been named by Shackleton after Sir James Key Caird
, a Dundee jute
manufacturer and philanthropist, whose sponsorship had helped finance Shackleton's expedition. Before its voyage the boat was strengthened and adapted by ship's carpenter Harry McNish
, to withstand the mighty seas of the Southern Ocean
. It carried a six-man crew led by Shackleton, with Endurances captain, Frank Worsley
, responsible for navigation.
After surviving a series of dangers, including a near capsize, the boat reached South Georgia after a voyage lasting 16 days. The crew overcame a final peril in securing a safe landing on the exposed coast. Shackleton was subsequently able to organise the relief of the Elephant Island party, and to return his men home without loss of life. After the end of the First World War the James Caird was brought back from South Georgia to England, and is now on permanent display at Shackleton's old school, Dulwich College
.
, the southernmost explored point of the Weddell Sea at 77°49'S, where a shore party was to land and prepare for a transcontinental crossing. Before it could reach this spot the ship was trapped in pack ice, and by 14 February 1915 was firmly beset, despite prolonged efforts to free her. During the following eight months she drifted northward until, on 27 October, she was crushed by the pack's pressure, finally sinking on 21 November. As his 27-man crew set up camp on the slowly-moving ice, Shackleton's focus shifted to how best to save his party.
Shackleton's initial plan was a march across the pack ice to the nearest land, where the party would try to reach a point that ships were known to visit. This idea was thwarted by the nature of the ice's surface, later described by Shackleton as "soft, much broken up, open leads intersecting the floes at all angles", which made travel almost impossible. After struggling to make headway over several days, the march was abandoned; the party established "Patience Camp" on a flat ice floe, and waited as the drift carried them further north, towards open water. They had with them three lifeboats, which Shackleton named after the principal backers of the expedition: Stancomb Wills, Dudley Docker and James Caird. The party marked time for more than three months until, on 8 April 1916, they finally took to the boats as the ice started to break up. Over a perilous period of seven days they sailed and rowed through stormy seas and dangerous loose ice, to reach the temporary haven of Elephant Island on 15 April.
In these circumstances Shackleton decided that he should take the initiative and try to reach help, using one of the boats. The nearest port was Stanley
in the Falkland Islands
, 540 nmi (1,000.1 km; 621.4 mi) away, but unreachable due to the prevailing westerly winds. 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
. 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 nmi (1,481.6 km; 920.6 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".
To reach South Georgia, Shackleton's boat party would have to traverse some of the most tempestuous and storm-swept seas in the world, with almost unceasing gales. They could expect hurricane force winds
and heaving waves—the notorious Cape Horn Rollers—measuring from trough to crest as much as 60 feet (18.3 m). Worsley wrote: "We knew it would be the hardest thing we had ever undertaken, for the Antarctic winter had set in, and we were about to cross one of the worst seas in the world".
Of the three boats, Shackleton selected the heaviest and strongest, the James Caird. The 22.5 feet (6.9 m) long James Caird had been built as a whaleboat
in London to Worsley's orders, designed on the "double-ended" principle devised by Norwegian shipbuilder Colin Archer
. Shackleton asked the expedition's carpenter, Harry McNish
, if he could make the vessel more seaworthy. McNish, with improvised tools and materials, immediately set about adapting the boat, raising its sides and building a makeshift deck of wood and canvas, sealing the work with oil paints, lamp wick, and seal blood. The craft was further strengthened by having the mast of the Dudley Docker lashed inside, along the length of her keel. She was then fitted with a mainmast and a mizzenmast, rigged to carry lugsails
and a jib
. The weight of the boat was increased by the addition of approximately 1 long ton (1,016 kg) of ballast, to lessen the risk of capsizing in the high seas that Shackleton knew would be encountered.
Shackleton had decided that the boat party would number six, and stores were loaded aboard to last six men one month, for, as he later wrote, "if we did not make South Georgia in that time we were sure to go under". In addition to ration packs intended for the transcontinental crossing, they took biscuits, Bovril
, sugar and dried milk. They also took two 18-gallon casks of water (one of which was damaged during the loading and let in sea water), two Primus stoves
, paraffin, oil, candles, sleeping bags and "a few spare socks".
According to Shackleton's own account, his first choices for the journey were Worsley and the dependable Tom Crean, who "begged to go". Shackleton knew Crean from the Discovery Expedition
, 1901–04; Crean had also been with Captain Scott's Terra Nova Expedition
in 1910–13 and had distinguished himself on Scott's ill-fated polar march. Shackleton asked for volunteers for the remaining places, and "many came forward". Of these he chose two strong sailors in John Vincent
and Timothy McCarthy, and offered the final place to the carpenter, McNish. "He was over fifty years of age", wrote Shackleton of McNish (he was in fact 41), "but he had a good knowledge of sailing boats and was very quick". The choices of Vincent and McNish, both reportedly difficult characters, have been ascribed by some writers to Shackleton's wish to keep potential troublemakers under his personal charge, although each had proved his worth during the earlier boat journey from the ice. Shackleton had great faith in Worsley's skills as a navigator, especially his ability to work out positions in difficult circumstances. In Crean, Shackleton was confident he had a man who would persevere to the bitter end.
The James Caird was launched from Elephant Island on 24 April 1916. The wind was a moderate south-westerly, which aided a swift getaway, and the boat was quickly out of sight of the land. Before leaving, Shackleton had left instructions with Frank Wild, who was remaining with the main party, that he was "in full command from the time the boat leaves this island"; in the event of the boat journey's failure, Wild was to attempt to take the party to Deception Island the following spring, and await help there.
As soon as they were away, Shackleton ordered Worsley to set a course due north, instead of directly for South Georgia, to get clear of the menacing ice-fields that were beginning to form. By midnight they had left the immediate ice behind, but the sea swell was rising. At dawn the next day, they were 45 nmi (83.3 km; 51.8 mi) from Elephant Island, sailing in heavy seas and Force 9
winds. A ship's routine was established: two three-man watches, with one man at the helm, another at the sails, and the third on bailing duty. The off-watch trio rested in the tiny covered space in the bows. The difficulties of exchanging places as each watch ended would, Shackleton wrote, "have had its humorous side if it had not involved us in so many aches and pains". Their clothing, designed for Antarctic sledging rather than open-boat sailing, was far from waterproof; repeated contact with the icy seawater left their skins painfully raw.
Success depended on Worsley's navigation, based on sightings attempted during the very brief appearances of the sun, as the boat pitched and rolled. The first observation was made after two days, and showed them to be 128 nmi (237.1 km; 147.3 mi) north of Elephant Island. The course was now changed to head directly for South Georgia. They were clear of the dangers of floating ice but had reached the dangerous seas of the Drake Passage
, where huge rolling waves sweep round the globe, unimpeded by any land. The movement of the ship made cooking hot food on the Primus nearly impossible, but Crean, acting as cook, somehow kept the men fed.
The next observation, on 29 April, showed that they had travelled 238 nmi (440.8 km; 273.9 mi). Thereafter, navigation became, in Worsley's words, "a merry jest of guesswork", as they encountered the worst of the weather. The James Caird was taking on water in heavy seas and in danger of sinking, kept afloat by continuous bailing. The temperature fell sharply, and a new danger presented itself in the accumulations of frozen spray, which threatened to capsize the boat. In turns, they had to crawl out on to the pitching deck with an axe and chip away the ice from deck and rigging. For 48 hours they were stopped, held by a sea anchor
, until the wind dropped sufficiently for them to raise sail and proceed. Despite their travails, Worsley's third observation, on 4 May, put them just 250 nmi (463 km; 287.7 mi) from the nearest point of South Georgia.
On 5 May the bad weather returned and brought them to the point of disaster in the largest seas so far. Shackleton later wrote: "We felt our boat lifted and flung forward like a cork in breaking surf". The crew bailed frantically to keep the boat afloat. Nevertheless they were still moving towards their goal, and a dead reckoning
calculation by Worsley on the next day, 6 May, suggested that they were only 115 nmi (213 km; 132.3 mi) from the western point of South Georgia, a position generally confirmed by the next day's observation. But the experiences of the past two weeks were taking their toll. Shackleton observed that Vincent had collapsed and ceased to be an active member of the crew. McCarthy was "weak, but happy". McNish was weakening, although showing "grit and spirit".
On 7 May Worsley advised Shackleton that he could not be sure of their position within ten miles. To avoid the possibility of being swept past the island by the fierce south-westerly winds, Shackleton ordered a slight change of course so that the James Caird would reach land on the uninhabited south-west coast. It would then, if possible, work its way round to the whaling stations on the opposite side. "Things were bad for us in those days", wrote Shackleton. "The bright moments were those when we each received our one mug of hot milk during the long, bitter watches of the night". Late on the same day floating seaweed was spotted, and the next morning there were birds, including cormorants which were known never to venture far from land. Shortly after noon on 8 May came the first sight of land.
As they approached the high cliffs of the coastline, heavy seas made immediate landing impossible. For more than 24 hours they were forced to stand clear, as the wind shifted to the north-west and quickly developed into "one of the worst hurricanes any of us had ever experienced". For much of this time they were in danger of being driven on to the rocky South Georgia shore, or of being wrecked on the equally menacing Annenkov Island
, five miles from the coast. On 10 May, when the storm had eased slightly, Shackleton was concerned that the weaker members of his crew would not last another day, and decided that whatever the hazard they must attempt a landing. They headed for Cave Cove
near the entrance to King Haakon Bay
, and finally, after several attempts, made their landing there. Shackleton was later to describe the boat journey as "one of supreme strife"; Historian Carol Alexander comments: "They could hardly have known—or cared—that in the carefully weighted judgement of authorities yet to come, the voyage of the James Caird would be ranked as one of the greatest boat journeys ever accomplished".
After a few days' recuperation Shackleton decided that the boat was not capable of making a further 150 nmi (277.8 km; 172.6 mi) voyage around the island's treacherous coastline, to reach the whaling stations on the northerly coast. Furthermore at least two of the men—Vincent and McNish—were unfit to travel. He decided to move the boat to a new location within King Haakon Bay, from which point he, Worsley and Crean would cross the island on foot, aiming for the inhabited station at Stromness.
On 15 May the James Caird made a run of about 30 nmi (55.6 km; 34.5 mi) to a shingle beach near the head of the bay. Here the boat was beached and up-turned to provide a shelter. The location was christened "Peggotty Camp
" (after Peggoty's boat-home in Charles Dickens
's David Copperfield
). Early on 18 May the three members of the island-crossing party set out for what would be the first-ever confirmed land crossing of the South Georgia interior. The journey was far from straightforward, since they lacked any map and had to improvise a route which involved traversing mountain ranges and glaciers. Without camping equipment, they travelled continuously, reaching their destination at Stromness 36 hours after setting out. Shackleton's men were, in Worsley's words, "a terrible trio of scarecrows", their haggard faces dark with exposure, wind, frostbite and accumulated blubber soot. Later that evening, 19 May, a motor-vessel was despatched to King Haakon Bay to pick up McCarthy, McNish and Vincent, and the James Caird. Worsley wrote that the Norwegian seamen at Stromness all "claimed the honour of helping to haul her up to the wharf", a gesture which was "quite affecting".
Owing to the advent of the southern winter and the prevailing ice conditions, it was more than three months before Shackleton was able to achieve the relief of the men at Elephant Island but eventually, with the aid of the steam-tug Yelcho, the entire party was brought to safety, reaching Punta Arenas in Chile on 3 September 1916.
Two years later Shackleton went back to Antarctica, leading the Shackleton-Rowett Expedition
. On 5 January 1922 he died suddenly of a heart attack, while the expedition’s ship Quest was moored in South Georgia.
Later that year James Quiller Rowett, who had financed this last expedition and was a former schoolfriend of Shackleton’s from Dulwich College, South London, decided to present the James Caird to the College. It remained there until 1967, although its display building was severely damaged by bombs in 1944. In 1967, the boat was given to the care of the National Maritime Museum
, and underwent restoration. It was then displayed by the museum until 1985, when it was returned to Dulwich College and placed in a new location in the North Cloister, on a bed of stones gathered from South Georgia and Aberystwyth
. This site has become the James Cairds permanent home, although it is sometimes lent to major exhibitions and has been seen in London Boat Show
(1994 & 2009), Greenwich
, Portsmouth
, Falmouth
(2006), Washington DC, New York
, Wellington
(2004), and Bonn, Germany (1998).
The James Caird Society was established in 1994, to "preserve the memory, honour the remarkable feats of discovery in the Antarctic, and commend the outstanding qualities of leadership associated with the name of Sir Ernest Shackleton".
South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...
to South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean, a distance of 800 nmi (1,481.6 km; 920.6 mi). Undertaken by Sir Ernest Shackleton and five companions, its objective was to obtain rescue for the main body of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition , also known as the Endurance Expedition, is considered the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Conceived by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition was an attempt to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic continent...
of 1914–17, trapped on Elephant Island after the loss of its ship Endurance
Endurance (1912 ship)
The Endurance was the three-masted barquentine in which Sir Ernest Shackleton sailed for the Antarctic on the 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition...
. History has come to consider the James Caird's voyage as one of the greatest open boat journeys ever accomplished.
In October 1915 Endurance had been crushed and sunk by pack ice in the Weddell Sea
Weddell Sea
The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha Coast, Queen Maud Land. To the east of Cape Norvegia is...
, leaving Shackleton and the crew stranded on an unreliable ice surface thousands of miles from safety. During the following months the party drifted northward until April 1916, when the floe on which they were camped broke up. They then made their way in lifeboats to the remote and inaccessible Elephant Island, where Shackleton quickly decided that the most effective means of obtaining relief for his beleaguered party would be to sail one of the lifeboats to South Georgia.
Of the three lifeboats, the James Caird was deemed the strongest and most likely to survive the journey. It had been named by Shackleton after Sir James Key Caird
James Key Caird
Sir James Key Caird, 1st Baronet was a Scottish jute baron and mathematician. He was one of the city's most successful entrepreneurs, who used the latest technology in his Ashton and Craigie Mills. James Caird was born in Dundee, and was the son of Edward Caird who had founded the firm of Caird ...
, a Dundee jute
Jute
Jute is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fibre that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from plants in the genus Corchorus, which has been classified in the family Tiliaceae, or more recently in Malvaceae....
manufacturer and philanthropist, whose sponsorship had helped finance Shackleton's expedition. Before its voyage the boat was strengthened and adapted by ship's carpenter Harry McNish
Harry McNish
Harry McNish was the carpenter on Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917...
, to withstand the mighty seas of the Southern Ocean
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60°S latitude and encircling Antarctica. It is usually regarded as the fourth-largest of the five principal oceanic divisions...
. It carried a six-man crew led by Shackleton, with Endurances captain, Frank Worsley
Frank Worsley
Frank Arthur Worsley DSO and Bar, OBE, RD was a New Zealand sailor and explorer.After serving in the Pacific, and especially in the New Zealand Post Office's South Pacific service he joined Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of...
, responsible for navigation.
After surviving a series of dangers, including a near capsize, the boat reached South Georgia after a voyage lasting 16 days. The crew overcame a final peril in securing a safe landing on the exposed coast. Shackleton was subsequently able to organise the relief of the Elephant Island party, and to return his men home without loss of life. After the end of the First World War the James Caird was brought back from South Georgia to England, and is now on permanent display at Shackleton's old school, Dulwich College
Dulwich College
Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...
.
Background
On 5 December 1914, Shackleton's expedition ship Endurance left South Georgia for the Weddell Sea, on the first stage of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Its destination was Vahsel BayVahsel Bay
Vahsel Bay is a bay about 7 miles wide in the western part of the Luitpold Coast, Antarctica.This bay receives the flow of the Schweitzer Glacier and Lerchenfeld Glacier. It was discovered by the German Antarctic Expedition of 1911–1912, led by Wilhelm Filchner...
, the southernmost explored point of the Weddell Sea at 77°49'S, where a shore party was to land and prepare for a transcontinental crossing. Before it could reach this spot the ship was trapped in pack ice, and by 14 February 1915 was firmly beset, despite prolonged efforts to free her. During the following eight months she drifted northward until, on 27 October, she was crushed by the pack's pressure, finally sinking on 21 November. As his 27-man crew set up camp on the slowly-moving ice, Shackleton's focus shifted to how best to save his party.
Shackleton's initial plan was a march across the pack ice to the nearest land, where the party would try to reach a point that ships were known to visit. This idea was thwarted by the nature of the ice's surface, later described by Shackleton as "soft, much broken up, open leads intersecting the floes at all angles", which made travel almost impossible. After struggling to make headway over several days, the march was abandoned; the party established "Patience Camp" on a flat ice floe, and waited as the drift carried them further north, towards open water. They had with them three lifeboats, which Shackleton named after the principal backers of the expedition: Stancomb Wills, Dudley Docker and James Caird. The party marked time for more than three months until, on 8 April 1916, they finally took to the boats as the ice started to break up. Over a perilous period of seven days they sailed and rowed through stormy seas and dangerous loose ice, to reach the temporary haven of Elephant Island on 15 April.
On Elephant Island
Elephant Island, on the easterly edges of the South Shetland Islands, was remote from anywhere that the expedition had planned to go, and far beyond normal shipping routes. No relief ship would search for them there, and the likelihood of rescue from any other outside agency was equally negligible. The island was bleak and inhospitable, and its terrain devoid of vegetation, although it had fresh water, and a relative abundance of seals and penguins to provide food and fuel for immediate survival. The rigours of an Antarctic winter were fast approaching; the narrow shingle beach upon which they were camped was already being swept by almost continuous gales and blizzards, which rapidly destroyed one of the tents in their temporary camp, and knocked others flat. The pressures and hardships of the previous months were beginning to tell on the men, many of whom were in a run-down state both mentally and physically.In these circumstances Shackleton decided that he should take the initiative and try to reach help, using one of the boats. The nearest port was Stanley
Stanley, Falkland Islands
Stanley is the capital and only true cityin the Falkland Islands. It is located on the isle of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2006 census, the city had a population of 2,115...
in the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
, 540 nmi (1,000.1 km; 621.4 mi) away, but unreachable due to the prevailing westerly winds. Another possibility was to head for Deception Island, at the western end of the South Sandwich chain. Although it was uninhabited, Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
records indicated that this island held stores for shipwrecked mariners, and was also visited from time to time by whalers
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
. 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
Frank Wild
Commander John Robert Francis Wild CBE, RNVR, FRGS , known as Frank Wild, was an explorer...
, 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 nmi (1,481.6 km; 920.6 mi) across the Southern Ocean
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60°S latitude and encircling Antarctica. It is usually regarded as the fourth-largest of the five principal oceanic divisions...
, 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".
Preparations
Beaufort scale
The Beaufort Scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort Wind Force Scale.-History:...
and heaving waves—the notorious Cape Horn Rollers—measuring from trough to crest as much as 60 feet (18.3 m). Worsley wrote: "We knew it would be the hardest thing we had ever undertaken, for the Antarctic winter had set in, and we were about to cross one of the worst seas in the world".
Of the three boats, Shackleton selected the heaviest and strongest, the James Caird. The 22.5 feet (6.9 m) long James Caird had been built as a whaleboat
Whaleboat
A whaleboat is a type of open boat that is relatively narrow and pointed at both ends, enabling it to move either forwards or backwards equally well. It was originally developed for whaling, and later became popular for work along beaches, since it does not need to be turned around for beaching or...
in London to Worsley's orders, designed on the "double-ended" principle devised by Norwegian shipbuilder Colin Archer
Colin Archer
Colin Archer was a Norwegian naval architect and shipbuilder from Larvik, Norway. His parents emigrated from Scotland to Norway in 1825....
. Shackleton asked the expedition's carpenter, Harry McNish
Harry McNish
Harry McNish was the carpenter on Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917...
, if he could make the vessel more seaworthy. McNish, with improvised tools and materials, immediately set about adapting the boat, raising its sides and building a makeshift deck of wood and canvas, sealing the work with oil paints, lamp wick, and seal blood. The craft was further strengthened by having the mast of the Dudley Docker lashed inside, along the length of her keel. She was then fitted with a mainmast and a mizzenmast, rigged to carry lugsails
Lugger
A lugger is a class of boats, widely used as traditional fishing boats, particularly off the coasts of France, Scotland and England. It is a small sailing vessel with lugsails set on two or more masts and perhaps lug topsails.-Defining the rig:...
and a jib
Jib
A jib is a triangular staysail set ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bow, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast...
. The weight of the boat was increased by the addition of approximately 1 long ton (1,016 kg) of ballast, to lessen the risk of capsizing in the high seas that Shackleton knew would be encountered.
Shackleton had decided that the boat party would number six, and stores were loaded aboard to last six men one month, for, as he later wrote, "if we did not make South Georgia in that time we were sure to go under". In addition to ration packs intended for the transcontinental crossing, they took biscuits, Bovril
Bovril
Bovril is the trademarked name of a thick, salty meat extract, developed in the 1870s by John Lawson Johnston and sold in a distinctive, bulbous jar. It is made in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, owned and distributed by Unilever UK....
, sugar and dried milk. They also took two 18-gallon casks of water (one of which was damaged during the loading and let in sea water), two Primus stoves
Portable stove
A portable stove is a cooking stove specially designed to be portable and lightweight, as for camping or picnicking, or for use in remote locations where an easily transportable means of cooking or heating is needed...
, paraffin, oil, candles, sleeping bags and "a few spare socks".
According to Shackleton's own account, his first choices for the journey were Worsley and the dependable Tom Crean, who "begged to go". Shackleton knew Crean from the Discovery Expedition
Discovery Expedition
The British National Antarctic Expedition, 1901–04, generally known as the Discovery Expedition, was the first official British exploration of the Antarctic regions since James Clark Ross's voyage sixty years earlier...
, 1901–04; Crean had also been with Captain Scott's Terra Nova Expedition
Terra Nova Expedition
The Terra Nova Expedition , officially the British Antarctic Expedition 1910, was led by Robert Falcon Scott with the objective of being the first to reach the geographical South Pole. Scott and four companions attained the pole on 17 January 1912, to find that a Norwegian team led by Roald...
in 1910–13 and had distinguished himself on Scott's ill-fated polar march. Shackleton asked for volunteers for the remaining places, and "many came forward". Of these he chose two strong sailors in John Vincent
John Vincent (sailor)
John Vincent was an English seaman and member of Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. He was one of the five men who accompanied Shackleton on his epic crossing from Elephant Island to South Georgia and was one of only four of the crew of Endurance not to receive the Polar...
and Timothy McCarthy, and offered the final place to the carpenter, McNish. "He was over fifty years of age", wrote Shackleton of McNish (he was in fact 41), "but he had a good knowledge of sailing boats and was very quick". The choices of Vincent and McNish, both reportedly difficult characters, have been ascribed by some writers to Shackleton's wish to keep potential troublemakers under his personal charge, although each had proved his worth during the earlier boat journey from the ice. Shackleton had great faith in Worsley's skills as a navigator, especially his ability to work out positions in difficult circumstances. In Crean, Shackleton was confident he had a man who would persevere to the bitter end.
The open-boat journey
As soon as they were away, Shackleton ordered Worsley to set a course due north, instead of directly for South Georgia, to get clear of the menacing ice-fields that were beginning to form. By midnight they had left the immediate ice behind, but the sea swell was rising. At dawn the next day, they were 45 nmi (83.3 km; 51.8 mi) from Elephant Island, sailing in heavy seas and Force 9
Beaufort scale
The Beaufort Scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort Wind Force Scale.-History:...
winds. A ship's routine was established: two three-man watches, with one man at the helm, another at the sails, and the third on bailing duty. The off-watch trio rested in the tiny covered space in the bows. The difficulties of exchanging places as each watch ended would, Shackleton wrote, "have had its humorous side if it had not involved us in so many aches and pains". Their clothing, designed for Antarctic sledging rather than open-boat sailing, was far from waterproof; repeated contact with the icy seawater left their skins painfully raw.
Success depended on Worsley's navigation, based on sightings attempted during the very brief appearances of the sun, as the boat pitched and rolled. The first observation was made after two days, and showed them to be 128 nmi (237.1 km; 147.3 mi) north of Elephant Island. The course was now changed to head directly for South Georgia. They were clear of the dangers of floating ice but had reached the dangerous seas of the Drake Passage
Drake Passage
The Drake Passage or Mar de Hoces—Sea of Hoces—is the body of water between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn, Chile and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica...
, where huge rolling waves sweep round the globe, unimpeded by any land. The movement of the ship made cooking hot food on the Primus nearly impossible, but Crean, acting as cook, somehow kept the men fed.
Sea anchor
A sea anchor, is a device external to the boat, attached to the bow used to stabilize a boat in heavy weather. It anchors not to the sea floor but to the water itself, as a kind of brake. Sea anchors are known by a number of names, such as drift anchor, drift sock, para-anchor, and boat brakes...
, until the wind dropped sufficiently for them to raise sail and proceed. Despite their travails, Worsley's third observation, on 4 May, put them just 250 nmi (463 km; 287.7 mi) from the nearest point of South Georgia.
On 5 May the bad weather returned and brought them to the point of disaster in the largest seas so far. Shackleton later wrote: "We felt our boat lifted and flung forward like a cork in breaking surf". The crew bailed frantically to keep the boat afloat. Nevertheless they were still moving towards their goal, and a dead reckoning
Dead reckoning
In navigation, dead reckoning is the process of calculating one's current position by using a previously determined position, or fix, and advancing that position based upon known or estimated speeds over elapsed time, and course...
calculation by Worsley on the next day, 6 May, suggested that they were only 115 nmi (213 km; 132.3 mi) from the western point of South Georgia, a position generally confirmed by the next day's observation. But the experiences of the past two weeks were taking their toll. Shackleton observed that Vincent had collapsed and ceased to be an active member of the crew. McCarthy was "weak, but happy". McNish was weakening, although showing "grit and spirit".
On 7 May Worsley advised Shackleton that he could not be sure of their position within ten miles. To avoid the possibility of being swept past the island by the fierce south-westerly winds, Shackleton ordered a slight change of course so that the James Caird would reach land on the uninhabited south-west coast. It would then, if possible, work its way round to the whaling stations on the opposite side. "Things were bad for us in those days", wrote Shackleton. "The bright moments were those when we each received our one mug of hot milk during the long, bitter watches of the night". Late on the same day floating seaweed was spotted, and the next morning there were birds, including cormorants which were known never to venture far from land. Shortly after noon on 8 May came the first sight of land.
As they approached the high cliffs of the coastline, heavy seas made immediate landing impossible. For more than 24 hours they were forced to stand clear, as the wind shifted to the north-west and quickly developed into "one of the worst hurricanes any of us had ever experienced". For much of this time they were in danger of being driven on to the rocky South Georgia shore, or of being wrecked on the equally menacing Annenkov Island
Annenkov Island
Annenkov Island is to the west of the main island of South Georgia. The Pickersgill Islands are its south west. It is irregularly-shaped and long and high, lying off the south-central coast of South Georgia.-History:...
, five miles from the coast. On 10 May, when the storm had eased slightly, Shackleton was concerned that the weaker members of his crew would not last another day, and decided that whatever the hazard they must attempt a landing. They headed for Cave Cove
Cave Cove
Cave Cove is a small cove on King Haakon Bay, South Georgia, best known for its connection to Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition expedition. It was where the James Caird landed on 10 May 1916 after its tumultuous voyage from Elephant Island, and this is commemorated by a small plaque...
near the entrance to King Haakon Bay
King Haakon Bay
King Haakon Bay, or King Haakon Sound, is an inlet on the southern coast of the island of South Georgia. The inlet is approximately long and wide.The inlet was named for King Haakon VII of Norway by Carl Anton Larsen the founder of Grytviken...
, and finally, after several attempts, made their landing there. Shackleton was later to describe the boat journey as "one of supreme strife"; Historian Carol Alexander comments: "They could hardly have known—or cared—that in the carefully weighted judgement of authorities yet to come, the voyage of the James Caird would be ranked as one of the greatest boat journeys ever accomplished".
South Georgia
On 15 May the James Caird made a run of about 30 nmi (55.6 km; 34.5 mi) to a shingle beach near the head of the bay. Here the boat was beached and up-turned to provide a shelter. The location was christened "Peggotty Camp
Peggotty Bluff
Peggotty Bluff or Peggotty Camp, is a bluff on the north side and near the head of King Haakon Bay, South Georgia.-History:In 1916, Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition party from Elephant Island established a camp, using the upturned James Caird near the head of King Haakon Bay...
" (after Peggoty's boat-home in Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
's David Copperfield
David Copperfield (novel)
The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery , commonly referred to as David Copperfield, is the eighth novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a novel in 1850. Like most of his works, it originally appeared in serial...
). Early on 18 May the three members of the island-crossing party set out for what would be the first-ever confirmed land crossing of the South Georgia interior. The journey was far from straightforward, since they lacked any map and had to improvise a route which involved traversing mountain ranges and glaciers. Without camping equipment, they travelled continuously, reaching their destination at Stromness 36 hours after setting out. Shackleton's men were, in Worsley's words, "a terrible trio of scarecrows", their haggard faces dark with exposure, wind, frostbite and accumulated blubber soot. Later that evening, 19 May, a motor-vessel was despatched to King Haakon Bay to pick up McCarthy, McNish and Vincent, and the James Caird. Worsley wrote that the Norwegian seamen at Stromness all "claimed the honour of helping to haul her up to the wharf", a gesture which was "quite affecting".
Owing to the advent of the southern winter and the prevailing ice conditions, it was more than three months before Shackleton was able to achieve the relief of the men at Elephant Island but eventually, with the aid of the steam-tug Yelcho, the entire party was brought to safety, reaching Punta Arenas in Chile on 3 September 1916.
Aftermath
The James Caird was returned to England in 1919.Two years later Shackleton went back to Antarctica, leading the Shackleton-Rowett Expedition
Shackleton-Rowett Expedition
The Shackleton–Rowett Expedition was Sir Ernest Shackleton's last Antarctic project, and the final episode in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. The venture, financed by businessman John Quiller Rowett, is sometimes referred to as the Quest Expedition after its ship Quest, a converted...
. On 5 January 1922 he died suddenly of a heart attack, while the expedition’s ship Quest was moored in South Georgia.
Later that year James Quiller Rowett, who had financed this last expedition and was a former schoolfriend of Shackleton’s from Dulwich College, South London, decided to present the James Caird to the College. It remained there until 1967, although its display building was severely damaged by bombs in 1944. In 1967, the boat was given to the care of the National Maritime Museum
National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,...
, and underwent restoration. It was then displayed by the museum until 1985, when it was returned to Dulwich College and placed in a new location in the North Cloister, on a bed of stones gathered from South Georgia and Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
. This site has become the James Cairds permanent home, although it is sometimes lent to major exhibitions and has been seen in London Boat Show
London Boat Show
The London Boat Show is held each January at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre in London, just opposite the O2 and the centre of London's business and entertainment centre. It is a very large event, now in its 54th year, which uses ExCeL's two 32,500 square metre halls...
(1994 & 2009), Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
, Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, Falmouth
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
(2006), Washington DC, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
(2004), and Bonn, Germany (1998).
The James Caird Society was established in 1994, to "preserve the memory, honour the remarkable feats of discovery in the Antarctic, and commend the outstanding qualities of leadership associated with the name of Sir Ernest Shackleton".