Ed. Note: Once they lost Endurance, Shackleton's main concern became his team's survival when breaking out of the ice. This account gives us an idea of that involved.
Orde-Lees Journal - December 9, 1915
We have had some splendid practice in launching, loading & hauling up one of our boats - the whaler, now named the James Caird in honour of the knight of that name who largely financed the expedition.
The surface was as good as one could wish & we hauled her with ease on her sledge about a quarter of a mile over the floe. A small slipway was then cut from the floe into an open lead and she took the water "like a bird".
Five sledge-loads of provisions, as per following table, were then run up and the boat loaded with these and eleven men, a total weight of 7000 lbs. This sunk her to within six inches of her original gunwale but with the extra foot that has been added to her she had eighteen inches to spare, which the experts considered ample in spite of some tendency to roll.
She was then unloaded and by means of a tackle six of us easily hauled her up the slipway.
Of course, we may not always have such good conditions of weather and surface but we managed to unload her and have her up in five and a half minutes, which should be quick enough to avoid getting her nipped in a closing lead at any time.
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