"'Land in sight' was reported this morning.

We were sceptical, but this afternoon it showed up unmistakably to the west, and there can be no further doubt about it.

It is Joinville Island, and its serrated mountain ranges, all snow- clad, are just visible on the horizon.

This barren, inhospitable- looking land would be a haven of refuge to us if we could but reach it.
It would be ridiculous to make the attempt though, with the ice all broken up as it is.

It is too loose and broken to march over, yet not open enough to be able to launch the boats." For the next two or three days we saw ourselves slowly drifting past the land, longing to reach it yet prevented from doing so by the ice between, and towards the end of March we saw Mount Haddington fade away into the distance.
Our hopes were now centred on Elephant Island or Clarence Island, which lay 100 miles almost due north of us.
If we failed to reach either of them we might try for South Georgia, but our chances of reaching it would be very small..