The first determined search for New South Greenland came during the Second German Antarctic Expedition, 1911–13, under Wilhelm Filchner. The expedition's ship, "Deutschland", had become trapped in heavy sea ice while attempting to establish a shore base at Vahsel Bay. Her subsequent north-westerly drift had, by mid-, brought her to a position east of Morrell's recorded sighting. Filchner left the ship on and, with two companions and sufficient provisions for three weeks, sledged westward across the sea ice in search of Morrell's land. Daylight was limited to two or three hours a day, and temperatures fell to −31 °F (−35 °C), making travel difficult. In these conditions the group covered , taking frequent sightings. They found no signs of land; a lead weight dropped through the ice reached a depth of before the line snapped, a depth which confirmed there was no land in the vicinity. Filchner concluded that what Morrell had seen had been a mirage.