The American whaler Essex, which hailed from Nantucket, Massachusetts, is attacked by an 80-ton sperm whale 2,000 miles from the western coast of South America.
The 238-ton Essex was in pursuit of sperm whales, specifically the precious oil and bone that could be derived from them, when an enraged bull whale rammed the ship twice and capsized the vessel. The 20 crew members escaped in three open boats, but only five of the men survived the harrowing 83-day journey to the coastal waters of South America, where they were picked up by other ships.
Most of the crew resorted to cannibalism during the long journey, and at one point men on one of the long boats drew straws to determine which of the men would be shot in order to provide sustenance for the others. Three other men who had been left on a desolate Pacific island were saved later.
The first capture of a sperm whale by an American vessel was in 1711, marking the birth of an important American industry that commanded a fleet of more than 700 ships by the mid 18th century. Herman Melville’s classic novel Moby-Dick (1851) was inspired in part by the story of the Essex.
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Cannibalism. Never say what you would “never” do. You’ll never know till you are tested.
It’s time for Whites to be like that whale.
and don’t neglect the three boats of rats escaping
In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick
Excellent book. Put it on your Xmas list.
It was also made into an excellent movie by the same name … the book ‘Moby Dick’ was the eventual result of the ‘In The Heart Of The Sea’ story that gets told …
Yeah … that’s NOT the way that went down. The first mate and two other crew members were in a boat with a young recruit (17 yrs old IIRC) who had begun drinking sea water. Before they no longer had the strength to do it, the 2 crew members waited for the first mate to fall asleep and killed the 17 y.o. kid, and began to eat him. When the first mate awoke, he also partook. They were rescued two days later, all three men were charged with murder, and the two crewmen were found guilty. They were later pardoned.
There was no drawing of straws because the teenager who drank sea water was delirious and almost dead and could not have paricipated in the drawing of straws.