24th April 1916: Sir Ernest Shackleton and five companions set off in James Caird, a recovered lifeboat, to sail from Elephant Island to South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean

Despite all the odds stacked against them, the crew of the tiny boat reached South Georgia in 16 days and then crossed to the whaling station at Stromness.

5th April 1621: The Mayflower returns to England from the settlement at Plymouth, having carried the Pilgrim fathers to America

To the ship’s crew the voyage to the New World was just a delivery contract between the Pilgrims and the ship’s master, Christopher Jones.