Keeping a Crew Motivated
The crew had no choice but to accept the decision. They trusted Shackleton. But they were also men without purpose. They had tasks meant to keep themselves alive, preparing food, hunting penguin for meat and as a Vitamin C source to prevent scurvy. The crew kept busy with ship maintenance. But the bored crew was disappointed they hadn’t made it to their Vahsel Bay destination. And they worried about the dangers of being trapped in an Antarctic ice floe for an unknown amount of time. To keep themselves occupied, they had games like checkers and dominos. They had pipes and tobacco. They played cards, devised contests among the men, played with the dogs, and listened to music. The darkroom on board meant photographs could be developed. But these small entertainments were diversions from their situation; they were stuck and didn’t know how long the situation would last.