With food supplies dwindling during their stay at Patience Camp, Shackleton decided to take to the boats and head direct for Elephant Island, their nearest refuge where they finally made landfall on 15 April, soaked, frozen and racked with thirst. The Dudley Docker was the last of the boats to arrive, having become separated from the others overnight. They were convinced that they were the only boat left, until they rounded the spit and saw the other two beached at the Cape.