Ernest Shackleton had an idea to make an expedition to Antarctica. He wanted to be the first person to cross Antarctica on foot. Shackleton’s story didn’t go as he planned but still showed how his courage made it so he and all his men could survive.
Ernest Shackleton, a British explorer took a boat with 27 men on an expedition to Antarctica. They planned to take a British boat across the roughest seas in the world to reach Antarctica to explore the land with huge glaciers and snow piled on top of it. The trip was rough with huge waves that were 80 feet tall and had a high probability of death on the trip. They sailed for Antarctica and at the very end, their ship got stuck in a huge sheet of ice, and after a year of drifting with ice smashing their boat, it sank to the very bottom of the ocean. All 27 men decided to take a lifeboat to sail the rest of the way to Antarctica's mainland and were left stranded, with no help.
A few days later, Shackleton and his crew got in the lifeboat and sailed up to an island named elephant island. This island is further north and is where they stayed for around an entire year. Shackleton had to make a decision to save himself and his men and to get back home to England safely. If he chose wrong, the consequences were death. He decided to sail with 5 of his crew to another island owned by England and Argentina called South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Shackleton knew that there is a boat port on the island, and some Norwegian whalers occupied the island.
Shackleton set off for sale for the small island. If he missed the port with the current taking him away, he and his 5 men would be lost forever at sea. He sailed for 17 days to South Georgia and arrived on the opposite side of the island. Shackleton and his men hiked to the other side of the island to meet the Norwegian whalers to hopefully get help from them. Three men were rescued from South Georgia on May 21, 1916, returning to Chile.
The other 22 men still on elephant island were rescued on August 30th, 1916 after a total of 24 months and 22 days living on a stranded island in Antarctica with 3 different attempts to save them. They arrived in Punta Arenas, Chile residing for 2 years in Antarctica. When they got back, the men said that they felt sad leaving and that it was fun working on the island.
100 years later, Shackleton's boat was found at the very bottom of the ocean, and none of the men died on the expedition. Shackleton’s story is a story of bravery, fearlessness, and courage that we can now look up to. Theres some lessons in there for all of us, Shackleton didn't just follow what people thought of his idea and didn't just give in when they doubted his trip. He also persevered through his ship getting stuck in ice, and the long journey it would take to complete this huge expedition. Even if you aren't planning on going to Antarctica, we can still follow Shackleton's story and hear the lessons he learned.
Cecily, Dawson and I in front of a replica of the life boat Shackleton sailed.
Um, wow. I'm left wondering...what on earth did they eat for two years in such a barren place? Where did they find shelter in the winter? I can't believe none of them died. Awesome storytelling.
So cool! I love this story! Just finished learning about it in school so it is awesome to see the photo with a replica of the boat!
Love Shackleton’s story. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Such an incredible retelling of the story! Good job!
I think Shackleton was a true leader to be able to make those men feel like 24 months on a floating shelf of ice was fun! Wow!
What an incredible story, thank you for sharing! It sounds like curiosity, courage, perseverance, grit hope, and trust were all a part of this expedition. Would you rather be on the crew on Elephant Island, South Georgia, or with Shackleton? I'm thinking I would have liked to be on Shackleton's 5-man crew because it would make me feel like I had some control of my destiny. Staying on the other two islands would take a lot of trust in your fellow mates + big mindset strength to stay hopeful while waiting. WOW!