The heart of the Antarctic - v. 2 Author:Ernest Henry Shackleton Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Chapter RETURN OF THE N1MROD AFTER leaving us on February 22, the Nimrod had an - uneventful voyage back to New Zealand. Fair winds were encountered all th... more »e way, and the ice gave no difficulty, the coast of New Zealand being sighted twelve days after the departure from Cape Royds. During the winter the Nimrod had been laid up in Port Lyttelton waiting till the time arrived to bring us back to civilisation. The little ship had been docked and thoroughly overhauled, so that all effects of the severe treatment she received during the first voyage down to the ice had been removed, and she was once more ready to battle with the floes. Towards the end of the year stores were taken on board, for there was a possibility that a party might have to spend a second winter at Cape Royds, if the men comprising one of the sledging expeditions had not returned, and, of course, there was always the possibility of the Nimrod herself being caught in the ice and frozen in for the winter. Sufficient stores were taken on board to provide for any such eventualities, and as much coal as could be stowed away was also carried. Captain P. F. Evans, who had commanded the Koonya at the time she towed the Nimrod down to the Antarctic Circle, was appointed master of the Nimrod under my power of attorney, Captain England having resigned on account of ill-health after reaching New Zealand earlier in the year. The Nimrod left Lyttelton on December 1, 1908,and encountered fine weather for the voyage southwards. On the evening of the 3rd, the wind being favourable, the propeller was disconnected, and the vessel proceeded under sail alone until the 20th, when she was in latitude 66 30' South, longitude 178 28' West. The " blink " of ice was seen ahead and the ship was hove to until steam had been raised and ...« less