We carried the stores
and gear above high-water mark and threw out the bags of sand and the
boulders that we knew so well. Then we attempted to pull the empty
boat up the beach, and discovered by this effort how weak we had
become. Our united strength was not sufficient to get the 'James
Caird' clear of the water. Time after time we pulled together, but
without avail. I saw that it would be necessary to have food and rest
before we beached the boat. We made fast a line to a heavy boulder and
set a watch to fend the 'James Caird' off the rocks of the beach. Then
I sent Crean round to the left side of the cove, about thirty yards
away, where I had noticed a little cave as we were running in. He
could not see much in the darkness, but reported that the place
certainly promised some shelter. We carried the sleeping-bags round
and found a mere hollow in the rock-face, with a shingle floor sloping
at a steep angle to the sea. There we prepared a hot meal, and when the
food was finished I ordered the men to turn in. The time was now about
8 p.m., and I took the first watch beside the 'James Caird', which was
still afloat in the tossing water just off the beach.
Fending the 'James Caird' off the rocks in the darkness was awkward
work. The boat would have bumped dangerously if allowed to ride in
with the waves that drove into the cove.
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