NathanLand Ho!
After sailing through thousands of miles crossing the icy polar seas, the Endurance had been traveling for about two months now. The Endurance had managed to reach about 100 miles nearing the Antarctic coast. It was going to take just about one day to reach their destination. So obviously the anticipation was almost tangible because it had been a long journey.
Atop A Frozen Surface
There were a few precautions that had to be taken. This is because the temperature at the sea suddenly plummeted and the sea ice forged together to make a bigger form. The ice ended up closing in around the Endurance too. Without any chance for the crew to escape this, the ship was now unwillingly held hostage there on the frozen surface.
An Unfortunate Predicament
Initially, the polar expedition leader Ernest Shackleton observed this unfortunate situation as a huge hindrance to their expedition. It has been more than a month since they started with this voyage. The expedition crew was clearly going through a challenging setback. This was all such an overwhelming turn of events to process besides the harsh weather.
Turning To The Leader
Since they were so clearly stuck there without any possibility to maneuver their ill-fate, tension grew on board and everyone was beginning to lose their cool. The crew could only do one thing and that was to ask their leader how to deal with their current problem. Since Shackleton had been in a similar situation before, he gave the only meaningful instruction he could come up with.
Unsettling Ice Drift
There were a lot of strong currents underneath the frozen surface of the sea. For this reason, the ice was suddenly drifting away from the shore and taking the Endurance with it as it went. The crew spent around 10 days on top of the ice, helpless. Everyone could clearly see that the ship was icebound and there was very little that the crew members could do.
Another Solution
Their little hope escaping dimmed down. The crew needed to save the fuel so they ran the ship in the low burn. There were no signs of ever getting away so Shackleton instructed his crew to get on the ice with chisels and saws to hopefully create a passage for Endurance. Sadly, they found that their efforts were meaningless and so he had to come up with another quick solution.