Sailing South

Shackleton’s party was not as prepared as he had hoped. They had plenty of dogs, but the only experienced dog driver had dropped out at the last minute. Though their overland trek required an average of 15 miles a day, only one person on the entire crew knew how to ski. They sailed to Buenos Aires in South America, bought some more supplies, and hired a few more people, including the photographer, James Hurley. They also had an unwelcome visitor onboard, a stowaway named Pierce Blackboro. He hid onboard for a few weeks before being caught. Shackleton was hopping mad but gave him a job in the galley, saying, "If we run out of food and are forced to start eating each other, you'll be the first." They then sailed for South Georgia, the last port before going to Antarctica. When they got there, they heard word of the worst ice conditions in the memory of the whalers at the port. They decided to wait a few months, and then, even though they were warned not to, sailed for Antarctica anyway. They spent the next six weeks dodging and weaving through the pack ice, sometimes ramming through it. One of the dogs onboard had given birth to three puppies.