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Extreme Perseverance
By Neil Peterson | November 21, 2008
Sometimes, in the annals of history, accounts of persevering under difficult circumstances are so extraordinary that they cause us to redefine the concept. One such case is the story of Ernest Shackleton’s expedition to the Antarctic in 1914 on a ship presciently named Endurance. It is one of the most inspiring examples of survival against unbelievable odds. Here is the how this amazing journey unfolded.
The Endurance departed London August 1, 1914, and its crew sighted the Antarctic landmass January 10, 1915. However, a week later, the Endurance became trapped in the pack ice off the coast of Antarctica. From that point on, the ship and her crew were at the mercy of the currents that shuffled the pack ice around the edge of the continent. As May approached, the sun vanished for the winter and the men celebrated the mid winter solstice on June 22.
As spring approached, the pressure of pack ice against the hull of the ship increased. Finally, Shackleton order his crew to abandon ship. They salvaged what they needed and could transport across the ice. The goal now was to ride the pack ice to a point where they could cross over to solid land and try to signal a passing ship for rescue. Shackleton promised his crew that he would get them back to England safely.
During the summer and early fall, the men lived on the moving ice pack. However, the summer thawing made the ice less stable. Finally, in April 1916, they were forced to sail the three lifeboats which they had taken from the Endurance to Elephant Island, the last island on chain that stretches from the tip of the Antarctic continent. After a harrowing journey they landed safely on the island. Shackleton was keenly aware that, while they were temporarily safe, their likelihood of rescue from a passing ship was slim.
He had his shipwright, Henry McNeish, rebuild and strengthen one of the lifeboats into a vessel that could be sailed to South Georgia Island. South Georgia was the closet point of inhabited land where he might find a ship to rescue his crew. But it lay eight hundred miles distant across some of the roughest ocean known to sailors. Shackleton took a handful of men and set sail for the distant island. Few of those remaining on Elephant Island thought they would ever see their crew mates alive again as they pushed off into heavy seas.
After enduring a perilous voyage across stormy seas, the crew in the tiny sailboat reached their destination, but on the desolate western side of South Georgia Island. Three of the crew members, including Shackleton, hiked over treacherous mountains and glaciers to reach the Stromness whaling station.
Twice, Shackleton tried to return to Elephant Island to rescue the stranded crew of the Endurance , but winter ice and storms repelled both attempts. Finally, on August 30, 1916, his third rescue attempt aboard the Chilean steamer Yelcho was successful. Amazingly throughout the entire ordeal, none of the men died or even suffered serious injury. Shackleton had been true to his word that he would see all the crew safely home.
Today, business theorists have studied Shackleton’s techniques as lessons for managing in tough times:
- Recruiting team members who could bear up under such severe conditions
- Maintaining discipline under extreme pressure
- Setting priorities and staying focused on achieving an important goal
- Keeping morale high when it would be esy to despair
Remarkably, many of the same men who served on the Endurance, volunteered a few years later for another expedition to the Antarctic with Shackleton. It seems their Endurance adventure had made returning to ordinary life the most difficult obstacle to overcome.
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