Campaign ManagerWhat can you do when you find yourself stranded on unfamiliar lands? One thing that is really impressive about the human race is that we tend to become very resilient and can always rise to the occasion when needed. Our strong survival skills have in a way lead us to position ourselves at the top of the food chain. Today we will read about the details of a group of explorers who went on an expedition and got lost in the cold icy waters of Antarctica for over 2 years…
A Polar Explorer
This is Sir Ernest Shackleton. He is a well established polar explorer who was about to make one of most ambitious expeditions ever. This happened by the time the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration ended and the British adventurer was in search of land at Earth’s southernmost territory. After he and his team completed the first land crossing across the continent, they made history.
Selected Few
The advertisement looking for a courageous crew ended up receiving over a thousand applicants. But the main man Ernest Shackleton was quite picky. He handpicked just 28 (and one stowaway) for the trip. His ship was called ‘Endurance’. Another group of men also sailed along on a support ship, getting ready and stacking supplies to move forward to their destination.
First Destination
The ship found its way to the land of Buenos Aires with no such noteworthy incident. It was from here that the Endurance too voyaged to reach the South Pole floating through the uncharted South Atlantic island of South Georgia. And during those times, the island had whaling stations which were kept about 2,000 miles to the closest coast of Antarctica.
Imaginable Impediment
Just after 2 days since the voyage started from South Georgia Island, the Endurance met with an unforeseen obstacle. The crew had already assumed the water to have cleared up enough for the sail to proceed towards the south but they quickly encountered a dangerously dense block of floating ice merging together. These are also known as pack ice.
Land Ho!
After sailing through thousands of miles crossing the icy polar seas, the Endurance had been traveling for about two months now. The Endurance had managed to reach about 100 miles nearing the Antarctic coast. It was going to take just about one day to reach their destination. So obviously the anticipation was almost tangible because it had been a long journey.
Atop A Frozen Surface
There were a few precautions that had to be taken. This is because the temperature at the sea suddenly plummeted and the sea ice forged together to make a bigger form. The ice ended up closing in around the Endurance too. Without any chance for the crew to escape this, the ship was now unwillingly held hostage there on the frozen surface.
The Longest Winter
Since they realized that they were undoubtedly marooned, the crew of the Endurance was grasping the reality of it all. As you can imagine, it was a big blow and was not something to be excited about at all. They were concerned because there was no way they could sail away from the unforgiving cold weather of the Southern Hemisphere. Their plan was falling apart.
36 Hours Straight
Since they did not have any other choice, the crew walked through the rocky crags and frozen waterfalls for 36 long hours straight. They got emotional after hearing the sounds of a stream running after they walked on and on for almost two days. They had made it to the outposts of Stromness. It must have been an exhilarating feeling to finally reach their destination.
S.O.S. Answered
After 1 hour passed when the men spotted the Chilean steam tug Yelcho off the coast of Elephant Island, all of them boarded it quickly. The men did not have time to take all their stuff. The men had been through so much and suffered through this long two-year ordeal, without anyone dying. The men were rejoicing and over the moon because they were now making their way back home after all of this.
Home Sweet Home
The 28 men who boarded on the Endurance expedition all safely made their way back to England. Even though the crew did not carry out their main goal, the mere fact that they all survived the traumatizing ordeal was something to include in the history books. Even the name of the ship has been appropriately dubbed the ‘Endurance’. These brave and determined men have taught us to never lose hope and that through coordination and companionship we can achieve anything.
