On the evening of the 12 th Owen Chase's boat was separated from the other two in a storm. On Jan.11 th Matthew Joy became the first man to die. Three of them could not face this prospect and stayed on the island. It was decided to take to the boats again. But they knew the island could not sustain 20 men for any length of time. They did, after two days manage to locate a source of fresh water. The island was disappointing in the natural resources it had to offer. Starved and dehydrated the men were elated to finally find land. By the time they arrived they were almost dead. It took a month to reach Henderson Island. There is no way I can describe the despair they must have felt as the three boats left the wreck of the Essex. The captain calculated it would take several weeks to get back to South America, they had minimal provisions for about 60 days. They also managed to make some sails for their tiny little boats. They took on as much water as was safe to carry along with bread and turtles. The Essex was still afloat so the men went back to salvage what they could. Chase wrote: " He struck her to windward, directly under the cat-head, and completely stove in her bows." The whale passed under the ship never to be seen again.Īll 20 men were now adrift, over 1000 miles from the nearest land, in the biggest ocean in the world. The great white whale once again crashed into the ship, this time the Essex was doomed. Chase wrote the whale was bearing down on them at twice the normal speed. Suddenly, he heard someone cry " here he is again-he is making for us again" Chase turned around and saw the whale heading directly for the Essex, this time with a renewed fury. Chase noticed she was settling by the bow. Soon, Chase writes, " he was enveloped in the foam of the sea, that his continued and violent thrashing about in the water had created around him, and I could distinctly see him smite his jaws together, as if distracted with rage and fury." Chase was now preparing the boats in case they should lose the Essex. The whale lay off the ship a short distance also stunned, but not for long. Nothing like this had ever been reported before.īut it was not over. Chase wrote in his narrative " he gave us such an appalling and tremendous jar, as nearly threw us all on our faces." The crew must have been stunned at what had just happened. Chase yelled out to the helmsman to put the ship hard up. Chase estimated the whale to be moving at about 3 knots, the Essex was also moving at about that speed. The whale surfaced, and to Chase's astonishment, he was headed straight for the Essex. Suddenly the whale (that Chase estimated to be about 85 feet in length) went under. He thought it strange how the whale was just sitting there and spouting. While accessing the damage to his boat Chase noticed a large white whale some distance off the port bow. It was then that the unthinkable happened. But the whale stove a hole in his little boat and Chase was forced to return to the Essex for repairs. Pollard in one boat and Owen Chase in the other. November 20,1820, another shoal of whales were spotted, the boats were lowered and the chase was on. The crew were all safely returned to the Essex. On Nov.16, on a boat in which Owen Chase was commanding, a whale that had been harpooned used its tail to wreck the boat. ![]() They lived for up to a year and required little food or water. As it happens, turtles were a very good and plentiful source of food for seafarers in those days. There they could resupply with fresh water and turtles. On Oct.2 nd they sailed for the Galapagos Islands. There the take was even better, as they reported a further 550 barrels of oil were collected. The season, now over in this area, they sailed for the waters off Peru. They began cruising off the coast of Chili and reportedly took eight whales, netting them some 250 barrels of oil. Rough seas, storms and unfavorable winds delayed them, but on Jan18 they arrived at St.Mary's island then sailed to Massafuera off the Chilean coast. Navigating around the Cape took some time. They arrived at Cape Horn around the 18 th of December. Only two days out of port they were hit by a squall, two of the whaling boats were destroyed and the Essex received some minor damage. The Essex, a 238 ton whale ship, under the command of Capt. Other whaleships are anchored in the harbor, or alongside the docks, in the background.įollowing is an excerpt from Michael W. Behind Brandt point a large cutter has hoisted her mainsail in preparation to breaking out her anchor. The tide is going out, shown by the ripples on the water close to the end of Brandt Point. The painting depicts the "Essex" sailing out of Nantucket harbor with a favorable breeze.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |