At Sea Towards South Georgia
With Point Wild on Elephant Island steadily retreating in our wake, National Geographic Explorer pushes on towards South Georgia. We are following the almost 800-mile course set in 1916 by Sir Ernest Shackleton, Captain Frank Worsley, Tom Crean, Harry McNeish, J. Vincent, and Timothy McCarty in the tiny lifeboat James Caird. This 16-day ordeal is perhaps the greatest open boat voyage of all time.
Shackleton’s second in command, Frank Wild, was left behind in charge of the remaining 22 exhausted and half-starved crew of the Endurance. Perhaps the most important man after Wild would be the cook, Charles Green, affectionately known as “Doughballs.” Upon landing on Elephant Island, Green had immediately served hot milk to each of his weary companions, and then immediately began cooking steaks and blubber from the unsuspecting seals the crew slaughtered upon landing.
“There was no rest for the cook,” Shackleton wrote. “The blubber stove flared and sputtered fiercely as he cooked, not one meal, but many meals, which merged into a day long bout of eating.” Cooking in these conditions was extremely challenging; Green sometimes went blind from blubber-stove soot, and the men had to put up with his runny nose dripping into the hoosh. No wonder that within a week of arriving on Elephant Island, Green collapsed in utter exhaustion.
Compare and consider the diet of seal and penguin with the cuisine we have been offered on our expedition. Head Chef Fredrik Wallgren and his galley crew entice our taste buds with epicurean delights. For breakfast a wide variety of fruit, homemade bread, eggs cooked to order, specialized omelets, accompanied by espresso and fresh juice. Piping hot pizza and made from scratch, carrot cake served at lunch. Dinner entrees included choice of sweet ‘n' sour cashew nut-breaded chicken, oven-baked filet of haddock, or ragout on pearl barley. Dinner was immediately followed by blackberry cheesecake with chocolate crumb crust. Cappuccino, café latte, hot chocolate and a wide selection of teas were available to complete the culinary experience.
Following in Shackleton’s wake on the fully stabilized, state-of-the-art National Geographic Explorer makes the journey seem easy. We are safely nestled in the capable hands of Captain Oliver Kruess and his officers. Meals are abundant, on time, and delicious. What a difference 97 years can make!
