Did Shackleton make any changes to the boat before they set sail?
Yes. The carpenter, ‘Chippy’ McNeish, made the bottom of the boat stronger, and stretched a canvas deck over most of it to give some shelter. The journey was extremely dangerous. On many occasions, the six believed they were about to sink in the terrifying conditions they encountered, with waves which seemed as high as mountains and violent storms. They were constantly wet and cold and one of the biggest dangers they faced was the weight of the ice collecting on the boat as the sea-spray froze. Several times they risked their lives hacking it off to prevent the boat capsizing. They also had a real fear that their water would run out before they made land. After 15 exhausting days at sea, they finally sighted South Georgia. They found it very difficult to find a place to land their boat safely, and were forced by gale, which nearly wrecked them on the coast, to spend two more nights at sea. Eventually, they managed to get into a cove in King Haakon Bay on the south of the island. To the
