A boat journey in search of relief was necessary and must not be
delayed. That conclusion was forced upon me. The nearest port where
assistance could certainly be secured was Port Stanley, in the Falkland
Islands, 540 miles away, but we could scarcely hope to beat up against
the prevailing north-westerly wind in a frail and weakened boat with a
small sail area. South Georgia was over 800 miles away, but lay in the
area of the west winds, and I could count upon finding whalers at any
of the whaling-stations on the east coast. A boat party might make the
voyage and be back with relief within a month, provided that the sea
was clear of ice and the boat survive the great seas. It was not
difficult to decide that South Georgia must be the objective, and I
proceeded to plan ways and means. The hazards of a boat journey across
800 miles of stormy sub-Antarctic ocean were obvious, but I calculated
that at worst the venture would add nothing to the risks of the men
left on the island. There would be fewer mouths to feed during the
winter and the boat would not require to take more than one month's
provisions for six men, for if we did not make South Georgia in that
time we were sure to go under. A consideration that had weight with me
was that there was no chance at all of any search being made for us on
Elephant Island.
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