“A boat journey in search of relief was necessary and must not be delayed. The nearest port where assistance could certainly be secured was Port Stanley, in the Falkland Islands, 540 miles away, but we could scarcely hope to beat up against the prevailing north-westerly wind in a frail and weakened boat with a small sail area.
South Georgia was over 800 miles away, but lay in the area of the west winds, and I could count on finding whalers on the east coast. I calculated that at worst the venture would add nothing to the risks of the men left on the island. There would be fewer mouths to feed during the winter and the boat would not require to take more than one month’s provisions for six men, for if we did not make South Georgia in that time we were sure to go under.” – Ernest Shackleton – South (1919)
(The successful rescue voyage of the James Caird remains one of the great small-boat epics.)
