Sir Ernest Shackleton, Endurance Voyage
Timeline and Map

1 - departure | 2 - trapped and crushed | 3 - journey to South Georgia | 4 - rescue
this page, time-line and map | crew of the Endurance


Map, route of the Endurance, Ernest Shackleton

Event and key to map Time since leaving England Date
Sail from England

Departure

August 8th 1914
1     Depart Grytviken whaling station, South Georgia 3 months, 27days December 5th 1914
2     Entered pack ice 3 months, 29 days December 7th 1914
3     Endurance trapped 5 months, 10 days January 18th 1915
4     Endurance crushed, ship abandoned 14 months, 19 days October 27th 1915
5     Endurance sinks 15 months, 13 days November 21st 1915
6     Launch boats for Elephant Island 20 months, 1 day April 9th 1916 - arrive Elephant Island April 15th
7     Boat journey to South Georgia 2 week journey - 21 months 2 days on arrival at S.G. April 24th - May 10th 1916
8     Shackleton, Worsley, and Crean reach Stromness whaling station 21 months, 12 days May 20th 1916
9     Three crew members rescued from a beach on South Georgia 21 months, 13 days May 21st 1916
10     Remainder of the crew rescued from Elephant Island 24 months, 22 days August 30th 1916

Download information in box below - as a Word file  |  as a pdf

 

Sir Ernest Shackleton, Endurance Expedition Time Line

Ernest Shackleton

August 1st 1914 - The Endurance sets sail from London.

November 5th 1914 - Arrival at Grytviken whaling station, South Georgia.

December 5th 1914 - Set sail for Antarctica, last contact with the outside world for 18 months, last contact with land for 497 days.

December 7th 1914 - First encounter with pack-ice.

January 18th 1915 - Endurance becomes beset, frozen into heavy pack ice a day's sail from the intended landfall.

February 22nd 1915 - Furthest south position reached at 77°S 35°W, the ice now starts to drift north carrying the Endurance with it.

August 1st 1915 - Ice surrounding the ship starts to break and push over itself, dogs brought on board.

September 1st 1915 - Ice pressure begins to act upon the ship.

October 27th 1915 - The Endurance is badly damaged and leaking due to the pressure of ice acting upon her, Shackleton orders her to be abandoned, stores and equipment are taken onto the sea-ice and a camp established.

November 1st 1915 - After an attempt to march with boats and sleds, "Ocean Camp"  is established a mile and a half from the Endurance.

November 21st 1915 - The broken and splintered Endurance sinks below the ice into the Weddell Sea.

December 22nd 1915 - Kept as Christmas Day, all remaining luxuries were eaten, the last really good meal for 8 months.

December 23rd 1915 - Ocean Camp is abandoned to try to move westwards to Paulet Island and a substantial food depot. Crew and dogs drag sleds and three lifeboats across the sea-ice.

December 29th 1915 - Very broken-up un-passable ice is met, a new camp is established "Patience Camp" , they were to live on the floe for nearly three and a half months.

April 9th 1916 - Ice floes breaking up and open water meant It was time to take to the boats and head towards the South Shetland Islands.

April 15th 1916 - Landfall at Elephant Island, the first time in 497 days.

April 24th 1916 - Shackleton and 5 others set off in the James Caird for South Georgia.

May 10th 1916 - James Caird arrives at King Haakon Bay, South Georgia.

May 19th 1916 - Shackleton, Crean and Worsley set out to cross South Georgia to reach the Stromness whaling station.

May 20th 1916 - Arrival at Stromness whaling station.

May 23rd 1916 - 1st rescue attempt, Shackleton sets out on the Southern Sky, a whaling boat to reach Elephant Island, is turned back by sea-ice and heads north arrives at the Falkland Islands on the 31st of May.

June 10th 1916 - 2nd rescue attempt on a trawler, Instituto de Pesca No. 1 loaned and provisioned by the Uruguayan government, again turned back by ice.

July 12th 1916 - 3rd rescue attempt by the schooner Emma, chartered and provisioned by donations raised at Punta Arenas, Chile also turned back by ice.

August 25th 1916 - 4th rescue attempt by the steam tug Yelcho loaned by the Chilean government successfully retrieves all of those on Elephant Island on August the 30th.

September 3rd 1916 - Yelcho reaches Punta Arenas with all 28 men of the Endurance expedition.

Ernest Shackleton
Shackleton's four attempts to rescue the crew of the Endurance from Elephant Island. The first from South Georgia, the second from the Falkland Islands and the third and then successful fourth attempts from Punta Arenas in Chile.

  Ernest Shackleton Books and Video

South - Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance Expedition
South - Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance Expedition (1919)
original footage - DVD


Shackleton - The Greatest Survival Story of All Time (3-Disc Collector's Edition)
Shackleton
dramatization
Kenneth Branagh (2002) - DVD
 

Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure (Large Format)
Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure (2001)
IMAX dramatization - DVD

The Endurance - Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition
The Endurance - Shackleton's Legendary Expedition (2000)
PBS NOVA, dramatization with original footage - DVD
Endurance, The Greatest Adventure Story Ever Told, book
Endurance : Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
Alfred Lansing (Preface) - Book


South with Endurance:
Frank Hurley - official photographer
Book


South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition, 1914-17
South! Ernest Shackleton
Shackleton's own words
Book

 Shackleton's Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer
Shackleton's Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer
Book

Shackleton's Boat Journey: The narrative of Frank Worsley
Book


 

Shackleton
biography by Roland
Huntford
Book

 
The Quest for Frank Wild, biography by Angie Butler
Book


The Endurance : Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition
by Caroline Alexander
Book

Mrs. Chippy's Last Expedition:
The Remarkable Journal of Shackleton's Polar-Bound Cat
Book

 
Shackleton's Forgotten Men
Lennard Bickel
Book


 
Elephant Island and Beyond: The Life and Diaries of Thomas Orde Lees Book
 
Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World, The True Story of the Endurance Expedition
Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World -
Jennifer Armstrong
for ages 12 and up
Book