Shackleton's Incredible Voyage - Book Report/Review Example

? Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage Introduction Endurance is written by Alfred Lansing. The book addresses the adventure of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his team. The name of the book reflects on the ship that was used for the exploration. Notably, it was designed and constructed to maximum strength and durability. Additionally, the book talks about Shackleton’s incredible voyage in which he led a team of twenty seven men through an imperial Trans-Antarctic voyage (Lansing and Hurley 267). The crew intended to transverse the Antarctic continent by dog sledge. Responsibility Assignment Matrix Prevailing Conditions Based On the Book The imperial Trans-Antarctic voyage was an organized chain of command and allocation of responsibilities. The literature in the book denotes that Sir Earnest Shackleton was top in the chain of command. Moreover, he is noted as preeminent and experienced explorer. This is because he successfully accomplished traversing of the Antarctic continent in 1958 and he had a successful command of the 1907-09 British Antarctic expedition. In addition, Shackledon’s perfect command can be depicted on his ability appoint effective team members; for example, he appointed Worsley and Crean for their skills among others including McNeish, Vincent, and McCarthy for more complex reasons in addition to their skills. Frank Wild was the second in command and also an oversight in the expedition. He had quite a number of polar experiences with Shackleton. He is reliable, quite capable and is well liked by the men since he displays a calm approach to different situations or circumstances. Additionally, his institution of judgment is relied upon by his commander who consults him on almost all matters of management of the expedition including planning and execution (Kemp 36). Thus, he took charge especially in the absence of Shackleton. Wild was able to take care of the remaining men as seen when the voyage was split at Elephant Island. Therefore, Wild plays a vital role of unifying and keeping the men entertained in the absence or presence of their main commander. Furthermore, his achievements earned him honors including the naming of Camp Wild in Elephant Island (Lansing 144). Captain Frank Worsley was in third position in the team’s command and he had a remarkable navigational and small boat skills. Nonetheless, he appeared to have been slow at the beginning of the expedition. The captain was assisted by Thomas Crean who was the second officer of the expedition (Blessings 41). Thomas Crean is a young ex-navy. He was intelligent, physically powerful and he was also dedicated to the men; thus, making him to be trusted and particularly valued by Shackleton. Moreover, the organization of the expedition team also included the doctors especially surgeons. These included Alexander H. Macklin and Dr. James Mc Ilroy. Alexander was a highly educated doctor in charge of the team of sledge dogs. He was also liked by his crew members since he understood the needs and demands of his colleagues; however, the literature displays him as a person who is quick to temper and this is reflected on few occasions (Kemp 28). Mc Ilroy is an experienced surgeon also in charge of a team of sledge dogs but not fond of them. Other crew members included Thomas H. Orde-Lees, Perce Blackboro, and James Francis Hurley the photographer. He was a valued member since he went beyond his official duties to entertain others. It is worth noting that he had a sense of humor and Shackleton sought his advice on camp movement and among other responsibilities (Kemp 38). Thomas H. Orde-Lees was a motor expert who later served as the store keeper. Harry McNeish served as the carpenter and performed much of the specialized work for the survival of the crew after the endurance crushed (Endurance 29). Perce Blackboro was the stowaway and he later became the steward and served well on the expedition; however, he was befallen by misfortunate that led to amputation of one of his legs (Lansing and Hurley 41). Other crew members include Greenstreet the first officer, Hudson the navigator, Cheethan the third officer, Rickinson the first engineer, Kerr the second engineer, Wordie the geologist, Hussey the meteorologist, James the physicist, Clark the biologist, and Marston the official artist. Matrix Based On Personal Opinion The structure of command for the crew was so successful for their success since it had almost each area of expertise covered. Sir Earnest Shackleton’s experience, leadership, and expertise were quite beneficial to the crew especially due to his exploration experience (Kemp 26). His ability to identify and appoint his team members with respective tasks according to their skills, strengths and experiences makes him suitable leader. Shackleton is tactful in making his decisions and he could be flexible for the benefit of the crew. For example, he insisted that all nonessential supplies to be abandoned and this created way for the establishment of a two-pound rule for personal gear (Lansing 199). Moreover, he made a decision that the crew should spend future nights in the boats because of unbearable conditions; this was a right decision at the moment. The crew consisted of intelligent and experienced persons who made better decisions for the situations that arose. For instance, Wild is left behind to lead the crew and he does it quite well. Crean who is the second officer for several days maintains an almost superhuman strength and watchfulness in his execution of duties (Lansing 247). Nonetheless, the crew of the expedition is able to adapt to various challenges as they are seen to eat penguins, sea leopards, seaweeds, and dogs to supplement food shortages (Blessings 38). Additionally, resorting to use of boats and abandoning the expedition were clever moves given the limited resources and prevailing conditions. Moreover, the action taken by Mc Ilroy to amputate Blackboro’s leg when he suffered extensive frostbite to his feet were smart moves in order to save the member although it was a big tragedy (Lansing and Hurlay 217). Therefore, the crew’s systems and actions justified their success throughout the imperial Trans-Antarctic voyage. The Risk Matrix: Project Risk Management Matrix The expedition was exposed to a variety of risks during the Trans-Antarctic voyage as the crew was subjected to a number of difficulties that made some members almost gave up during the voyage as presented in the table below Risks based on the books point of view. Risk Probability of the risk happening Signs of the risk happening Effects of the risk How to prevent the risk 1 Drawing Crushing of the ship and Occasional melting of ice Revealed at Mark Time Camp Constant shifting to new camps Spending nights in the boat 2 Starvation Limited food Hunting to supplement shortages Weakness among the crew Hunting wild game and killing the dogs 3 Separation Hard conditions Crew members declining to obey orders (McNeish) Lack of organization Presence of the leader (Shackleton) 4 Loosing direction Presence of heavy tidal winds The crew moving east despite sailing West More time spent on the way Presence of the experienced captain and Shecklaton 5 Constipation Feeding on meat only repeatedly Feeding on penguins, seal leopards and dogs Weakness among the crew Use of salvaged suplements 6 Dehydration Freezing cold water Crew survive on a spoon per day Severe dehydration The crew used only a spoon of water as there was no choice 7 Freezing Crew expose themselves to freezing temperature Use of the open boats Inability to move about and agony Sleeping in the boats 8 Contracting diseases Feeding on seal and dog meat Continuous Feeding on seal and dog meat was not reported in the expedition Salvaging of the food from the capsizing ship 9 Crushing between ice Occasional melting of the ice The three crafts encountering tide rip Change of direction bearing Abandoning dangerous destinations’ 10 Painful experiences Constant hardship Blackboro’s feet gets frozen Crew members weep without hope Availability of social leaders like the first officer 11 Failure Presence of lazy members like the steward Orde-Lees sleeps at the bottom of the boat Lack of success as there is no team work Allocating crew with active and responsible members 12 Attack by animals (seals) Camps are made in ice in the water The seals chase some crew to the camp Food supplement obtained when the seal is shot Availability of weapons like Wild’s riffle 13 Death The crashing of the ship and loss of food The ship eventually sinks Constant struggle and hardship throughout the trip The expedition had smaller ships for survival plus they salvaged some items 14 Boredom and demoralization Difficulty of slushy snow and ice The hours become endless Experiencing long boring days The crew contrived quirky and silly methods 15 Loss of hope Availability of mental resoluteness McNeish almost gave up The crew could have perished Shackleton used his certainty of triumph to instill hope 16 Petty thefts and misunderstanding cases Lack of enough food The leader moves the food near his tent Management of the small food stock Shackleton moved the food closer to his tent 17 Exhaustion and fatigue Constant struggle Offloading The ship, windy conditions Tiredness and low performance The crew contrived quirky and silly methods 18 Losing leadership trust Some crew lost hope some crew viewed shackleton’s decision as foolish Little loss of trust Shackleton’s was prone to success hence the respect of the crew 19 Risk of forgetting moral routine practices Constant stay in water with lots of hardship Eating dogs, using ice to wipe themselves Change of lifestyle Their problem gave them togetherness. 20 Mental torture The need to survive tough conditions Agony Loss of hope Practices like playing Banjo as the dark enters Risk Mitigation Although the possibility of slight failure in the expedition was due to the challenges encountered in the exploration, it is vital to note that the root cause was the capsizing of the ship. The materials used in the construction of the ship might have not been strong enough; thus, they could have been heavier but weaker. Breaking of the ship was nerve-wracking as the crew was forced to offload the provisions since the ship was literally groaning and bursting inwards. Due to this Shackleton should have chosen a stronger ship. Nonetheless, in order to save time and reduce work load the ship should have been constructed using lighter materials to prevent offloading to make it lighter. In order to reduce risks like loss of direction the crew should have avoided early morning voyage when the concentration of fog is too much (Kemp 41). Moreover, Sheckleton could avoid operations during and towards strong tides as seen during the trip to Elephant Island. This could be prevented by involving the captain and the first officer closely to gather the navigation facts right before commencement of the voyage. Additionally, Shackleton should have brought on board better bigger boats for the voyage instead of the tiny open crafts so as to prevent exposure to freezing temperatures brought by constant flooding of the open boats by freezing sea water (Lansing 103). The crew should have carried enough food plus water supplements and salvaged them when the ship capsized to prevent challenges like constipation, dehydration and chances of hunger and starvation (Bressing 28). Additionally, it was vital to allocate at least an experienced crew member in each team to prevent situations in which Orde-Lees, refuses to work and takes to his sleeping bag in the bottom of the boat. However, Sheckleton’s maintaining the unity and close consultation with the crew was a smart move as seen during the first night when he and Worsley sit at the helm quietly discussing their situation while the other men sleep (Lansing 172). Works Cited Endurance. Shackleton's Incredible Voyage. Paw Prints, 2010. Print. Kemp, Hangover W. 100 Thoughts on "endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage", from the. S.l.: Book on Demand, 2013. Print. Lansing, Alfred. Alaska Reads Toolkit for Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. Alaska: Alaska Reads, 2004. Print. Lansing, Alfred, and Frank Hurley. Endurance. London: Phoenix, 2001. Print. Bressing, Grace. 100 Statements About "endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage" That Almost Killed My Hamster. S.l.: Book on Demand, 2013. Print. Read More