Author: Unknown

Map of Shackleton and the Endurance's Journey to Antarctica

In August 1914, explorer Ernest Shackleton and his crew set sail from England for Antarctica, where Shackleton hoped to be the first man to cross the uncharted continent on foot. Five months later, the Endurance - just a day's sail short of its destination - became locked in an island of ice, and its destiny and men became locked in history. For ten months the ice-moored Endurance drifted until it was finally crushed, and Shackleton and his crew made an 850-mile journey in a 20-foot craft through the South Atlantic's worst seas to reach an outpost of civilization.

December 1914-February 1915: Endurance leaves South Georgia and sails to the Weddell Sea February-October 1915: The Endurance is trapped in ice and drifts for 8 months. November 1915-April 1916: Endurance is finally crushed by the ice sinks. Shackleton and his man drift on an ice floe then sail and row in lifeboats to Elephant Island. April-May 1916: Shackleton and five other men then sail a lifeboat 800 nautical miles (1500 km, 920 statue miles) to South Georgia in an astonishing feat of navigation skills and endurance. Once there they still have to walk for thirty six hours across the uncharted island to reach the safety of the whaling station. September 1916: Three months later the entire crew of the Endurance is rescued from Elephant Island and taken to Chile.

Shackleton's journey is covered in the book Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage.