King Haakon Bay, or King Haakon Sound, is an inlet on the southern coast of the island of

South Georgia South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east� ...

. The inlet is approximately 13 km (8 miles) long and 4 km (2.5 miles) wide. The inlet was named for King

Haakon VII of Norway Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick V ...

by Carl Anton Larsen, founder of

Grytviken Grytviken ( ) is a settlement on South Georgia in the South Atlantic and formerly a whaling station and the largest settlement on the island. It is located at the head of King Edward Cove within the larger Cumberland East Bay, considered the b ...

. Queen Maud Bay, named for his queen, is nearby.

Shackleton Gap Shackleton Gap () is an ice-covered pass rising to about 300 m between King Haakon Bay and Possession Bay, South Georgia. The name Shackleton's Pass, after Sir Ernest Shackleton, was used on a map in his book the route across South Georgia used by ...

, a mountain pass, connects King Haakon Bay to

Possession Bay Possession Bay is a bay wide on the north coast of South Georgia, an island in the southern Atlantic Ocean. It recedes southwest for , and is separated from Cook Bay to the north by Black Head promontory. It is connected to King Haakon Bay b ...

. Cave Cove, which forms part of the bay, is best known as the landing place of Ernest Shackleton in May 1916 as he sought help for his shipwrecked crew marooned on Elephant Island with the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. The '' James Caird'' landed in the cove on 10 May 1916, after its tumultuous voyage from Elephant Island. While at Cave Cove, the men fed on

albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacifi ...

Henry McNeish Henry McNish (11 September 187424 September 1930), often referred to as Harry McNish or by the nickname Chippy, was the carpenter on Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917. He was responsible for much of the ...

wrote: "We have not been as comfortable for the last five weeks, We had 3 young & 1 old albatross for lunch with 1 pint of gravy which beets icall the chicken soup I ever tasted." Since they had run out of drinking water arriving at Cave Cove, the men immediately went to the small stream there. They had to leave their boat offshore, and the elements tore the rudder off the ''James Caird''. The rudder floated back into the cove later, and thus they were able to repair the boat. From here, they moved to Peggotty Bluff. The voyage is commemorated by a small plaque in the rock at the cove. InSightOfOurGoal-NearingSouthGeorgia

Peggotty Bluff or Peggotty Camp is a bluff near the head of King Haakon Bay on the north side. The party camped at the bluff using the upturned ''James Caird'', They named the camp for the

Peggotty The Peggotty family are fictional characters in Charles Dickens's 1850 novel ''David Copperfield''. Daniel Peggotty Yarmouth fisherman Daniel Peggotty is the brother of Clara. Referred to as "Mr Peggotty", he is a fisherman and dealer in lobste ...

family in Charles Dickens' '' David Copperfield'', who lived in a home made from a beached boat. While they were waiting in this location,

Henry McNish Henry McNish (11 September 187424 September 1930), often referred to as Harry McNish or by the nickname Chippy, was the carpenter on Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917. He was responsible for much of the ...

took screws from the boat and put them in the crew's shoes in order that they could walk across ice more easily. During the South Georgia Survey, 1955–56, King Haakon Bay was surveyed and the approximate position of the camp deduced. The name Peggotty Bluff was given to the feature now described, which is close to the ITAE campsite.

References

External links

Images of Cave Cove
Bays of South Georgia Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition {{SouthGeorgia-geo-stub

See also

References

External links