Endurance - Shackleton's Expedition

Patience Camp
Hurley and Shackleton sit before the entrance to their tent. Hurley (left) is skinning a penguin for fuel for the blubber stove between them, which he built.

As March approached, the supply of food dwindled, and the men existed on penguins, seals, and their beloved sled dogs. By the end of March, high temperatures in the 30’s lows of –21 degrees Fahrenheit was a dangerous range of temperatures for the sleeping bags and clothing of the men which was alternately sodden and frozen stiff. They continued a structured daily life on the floe, slowly moving North towards the open ocean.

Shackleton made two attempts to march to land, some 300 miles to the North, hauling the lifeboats and the food, which had been pulled from the ship. The dogs successfully pulled the sledges loaded with food and supplies but it was left up to the men to haul the three lifeboats. Loaded, the boats weighed approximately one ton each. It proved impossible to haul them over the uneven ice. The boats could not be left behind, as Shackleton regarded them as vital to their survival with the ocean beneath their feet.

Helplessly, the crew waited to see if the floe would carry them closer to land. The second encampment was named "Patience Camp."

On the Move:
In Early March, Orde-Lees reported feeling seasick. The ice was so thin that the swell of the ocean could be felt. On April 9, 1916, The 28 men struck camp and piled into the three lifeboats. The boats set a course for Elephant Island, some 100 miles to the North. It was a terrible journey, battling prevailing wind, cold, seasickness, and mind numbing tiredness. On the seventh day out of Patience Camp, the boats arrived on Elephant Island.

Home - Endurance	Voyage of the James Caird
The Voyage South	South Georgia Island
Ship Beset and Crushed	The Rescue
Ocean and Patience Camps	Sir Ernest Shackleton
Elephant Island	Expedition Members