Endurance Part VII and Ep.

The Yelcho sailed to Elephant Island to rescue the remaining men.

The men of Endurance have finally ended their perilous journey. At the climax of the journey, Shackleton and two of his men traveled across the dangerous South Georgia to civilization. Once there, they were able to send aid back to their remaining crew members left with the Caird. The six men where safe and in a peaceful environment. However, Shackleton did not rest.
 He felt it was his duty to secure rescue for the rest of his crew. Multiple rescue attempts were sent, but none prevailed.

"Throughout each failure of the subsequent rescue attempts, Shackleton's anxiety had risen to the extent that Worsley said he had never seen him so on edge."

Shackleton never gave up, and continued asking for ships to attempt rescue. To me, this reinforces what a good leader Shackleton was. He could have pass his responsibility unto someone else once he reached civilization. But he did not. He appealed to not only his own governement, but also the Chilean government when he did not want to wait on England. The is the sign of great leadership. Not only did Shackleton do his duty to his crew, but he also cared enough to see them through to the end.

Endurance Part VI Chapters 4-6

Marathon runner

As any marathon runner will tell you, the hardest part is the final mile. I am not an avid runner, however, I do recall having to run a mile for gym class my freshman year. Not used to running, I was painstakingly slow. The worst part of that mile mentally and physically was the final quarter mile around the track. The finish line was teasing me, always just out of reach. This is how the six men aboard the Caird felt about the last part of their journey to South Georgia. They had made it so far and come so close, only to have so many obstacles blocking their path. The horrible state of the supplies especiall the water, along with the men's overall poor heath meant they needed to land quickly. None of them wanted to imagine the unthinkable, that they had overshot and missed the island completely.

Even the sighting of land did not bring complete relief, as there were still obstacles to overcome. The uncharted reefs made landing on the island next to impossible.

"The whole complexion of things suddenly changed. There could be no thought of landing, not here at least, for the boat would not have lived ten seconds in those breakers. It was something they didn't deserve- a needless cruelty. The land lay just in front of them, and they had earned it."

South Georgia

The irony of the men's situation was apparent. They had traveled hundreds of miles, withstood all nature could throw at them, only to be foiled just as relief was in sight. However, Shackleton was determined and continued to seek for a safe place for them to go ashore. Miraculously, the Caird withstood the rocks and the men were able to land.

Endurance Part VI Chapters 1-3

Drawing of the Caird

As the remaining men await rescue back on Elephant Island, Shackleton and his small team brave the open waters. This trip was more terrifying then any previous, as failure was not an option. The other men were counting on them to reach South Georgia and send help. The men dealt with nature at her most ferocious. The neverending streams and sprays of water constantly assulted the rowers. On the rare oppertunities to sleep, the rocking waves often prevented the fatigue men from drifting off. Ice began accumulating on the ship and had to be chipped off by the men while they were exposed to the elements. All of this was nothing, however, compared to the monotony of sea life.

"Every individual minute had to be noted, then lived through and finally checked off."

Countdown

Everyone has been in that position where it seems like something will never end. It is feeling every student gets as summer or spring break nears. I sometimes feel that way during a slow shift at work. I will stare at the slowly ticking hands of the clock, cheering for every minute that torturously passed. The adage is time flies when you are having fun. However, the opposite is true as well. Time seems to drag on in times of dread. The men on the Caird have nothing to look forward to, South Georgia being a unrealistic goal for the time being. They have nothing to look forward to, and thus they must simply live each moment as it comes.

Endurance Part V Chapters 4-6

Men left behind on Elephant Island.

In the days following the sailing of the Caird, the twenty-two men left on Elephant Island find themselves in a state of limbo. They have little to do except wait and hope for relief. Daily life in camp alternates between moments of peace and happiness and dark depression. The men had motivation to fight off boredom, as it normally led to negative thoughts.

"There was almost never any mention of the most probable reason of all... the Caird had been lost."

The television show Lost.

 The men prefered manual labor rather than entertaining the possibility that Shackleton would not make it.  To pass the time, the men work to make the island livable. They slowly improve their shelter and gather food. This time of simply living life day by day and waiting for rescue is similar to the beginning of one of my favorite television shows, Lost. In the show, the passengers of a plane crash work to survive together on a deserted island. The survivors must spend their days working to establish a home on the island while waiting for rescue. However, in Lost one of the most challenging aspects for the survivors is learning to deal with each other. The survivors of Endurance seemed above this problem. The men rarely argued and managed to solve many domestic problems easily. For example, one annoyance to many of the men was when one of them would need to relieve himself in the middle of the night, often stepping on many of his roommates. Instead of letting the annoyance fester into anger, the men found a comical solution.

Endurance Part V Chapters 1-3

the James Caird

After six days of continuous rowing, the crew finally landed on Elephant Island. Almost immediately the island proves to be full of its own downsides. The blizzards on the island proved so bad that the men where forced to take their tents down for fear of them being carried off by the winds. Shackleton's decision to take a boat to South Georgia in hopes of finding rescue did not come as a surprise to the crew. To the contrary, it was obvious to the men that Shackleton's plan was their only hope. Shackleton's dilemma was not when or where to sail, but who he would choose to accompany him. Shackleton not only had to think in terms of who would be helpful on his journey, but also who the rest of the men would need to survive on the island. Shackleton could not take his five best men, leaving the rest to fend for themselves on the treacherous island. However, a helpful or unhelpful crew could mean the difference between getting rescued or not.

"Shackleton had already made up his mind, after long discussions with Wild, not only as to who should be taken, but who should not be left behind."

Mexican immigrants

Shackleton was forced to split up his men in order to hopefully find rescue. This is a hard decision for any leader, as it goes aganist many instincts telling you to always stay together. Shackleton's postition is not that different from many people's today. Thousands of immigrants come to America every year hoping for a better life for them and their families. However, many of these men and women are forced to split up their families due to financial strain. It is very common for one of the parent's to move to America first, sometimes for up to years, before they can afford to send for the rest of their families. This could not be an easy decision for anyone. It risks so much, not to mention the pain of seperation. However, these brave people do it because they hope in the long run it will be in their best interest. Similarly, Shackleton is afraid of what will come in the future, both to his team in the Caird and the men stranded on the island. However, Shackleton takes the risk because he believes it is the only way to safely get them home.

Endurance Part IV

Perce Blackboro

As the twenty-eight men attempt to survive in the open waters, their physical conditions begin to deteriorate. The excitement many felt at the chance to sail in the waters quickly transformed to despair as rowing toward land proved harder then anything the men had previously endured. Most men were frostbitten, sore, and had not slept in days. Blackboro's feet became so cold that he could no longer feel them. This meant he may never walk again.

"He never complained, though he knew that it was only a matter of time until gangrene set in. Even if he lived, it seemed unlikely that this youngster who had stowed away a year and a half before would ever walk again."

Blackboro was the ship's stowaway. The young man snuck aboard the Endurance seeking an adventure. The unforseen disaster that was the exploration would leave him permanently disabled. Blackboro's story reminded me of another I had heard during the horrible earthquakes in Haiti. A United States student, Christa Brelsford, had her leg amputated after a house collapsed on her during an earthquake while on a volunteer trip to Haiti. Like Blackboro, Brelsford was an adventerous person, often traveling and hiking. Brelsford also did not complain about her condition, merely becoming determine to live her life to the fullest. Blackboro had the same outlook. He complained so little about this possibly life altering event, that Shackleton even forgot about the young man's feet in the excitement of landing ashore.

Elephant Island

This section also marks a turning point  in the story, as the men wash up onto land for the first time in over a year. This will no doubt be a huge milestone for the crew. It came at the perfect time, as many men seemed on the verge of giving up. Mentally, physically, and emotionally, the men are drained. Land offers the men what the floe and ship could not, stability.

Endurance Part III Chapters 4-6

Hurley and Shackleton at Patience Camp

Tensions around Patience Camp are at an all time high. The lack of uncertainty about the safety of the floe led to bickering and petty squabbles amoung the crew. Some men, looking for a scapegoat, blame Shackleton.

"Inevitably the old resentments aganist Shackleton's refusal to get in all possible game when it was available cropped up."The hardships of leading that Shackleton faces are very apparent. The circumstances tempt many of the men to question Shackleton's decsions. He is often forced to make life or death choices. For example, many of the men pressured Shackleton to send a team back to Ocean Camp due to low food supply. However, the dangerous journey was thought by Shackleton to be too big of a risk. I disagree to an extent with the decision. Although it worked out in Shackleton's favor, as sea lepords were soon spotted and provided much meat, I think that Shackleton's gamble was far too great. It is true that sending men to Ocean Camp would be dangerous. However, at this point, starvation is a very realistic problem. Shackleton merely got lucky that they managed to acqire more meat.

The other important decision Shackleton made was to launch the boats off the floe. This was controversial, as they had no idea of how long the pack would remain open. However, the floe they were currently staying on had become steadily smaller and could soon break. Shackleton decided it was more dangerous to stay and ordered them to sail out into the open water.