In contrast to his stated object, to winter as far south as possible, the South Orkneys were more than 2,000 miles (3,200 km) from the South Pole, but the northerly location had advantages.
Sammenlignet med det erklærede mål om at overvintre så langt mod syd som muligt, lå Sydorkneyøerne mere end 3.200 kilometer fra Sydpolen, men den nordlige beliggenhed havde sine fordele.