Sailing for three days over very stormy seas, it would have been disappointing not to be able to see Elephant Island and the exact spot where Shackleton left behind the bulk of the crew of the Endurance while he went for help to rescue them in the winter of 1916. For the majority of the morning all we could see was a thick band of fog all around the Endurance, but as we arrived near the Island, the skies cleared, and the winds increased. This afforded us a spectacular view. Small islands covered in screaming gulls and fur seals surrounded the small peninsula where the men wintered in their upturned lifeboats.
From the luxury of our superb vessel, we could sit perfectly still while winds blew snow from the glacier and be humbled to see where these men had scratched out the most basic of lives while they waited for a long five months.
