The beginning of the chapter discusses the severe weather, turbulent waters, and massive waves generated by the Southern Ocean, from which the crew quickly retreats after finding their boats to be too heavy. When they head back to the ice pack, they find a tabular iceberg, which is in the shape of a cube and rises 20 feet above the water at its highest point, to make camp. They haul everything up, including the boats, and then sleep for the first time in 36 hours. As they sleep, a gale closes the icepack in around them, trapping them. When they wake up, they watch as “mighty waves jostled the ice together” (83). They search for open water from the top of the iceberg, which is breaking off into large pieces. As their iceberg starts to roll on its side, Shackleton orders them to launch the boats.

They spend the next few nights in the boats and face immense hardship. The Stancomb Wills is the slowest of the three boats, and Shackleton orders Worsley to go back in the Dudley Docker and tow it along. As night approaches, they moor themselves to a floe, and Green gets out of the boat and makes warm milk for everyone on the ice.