The Essex: A Whale Tale Of A Whaler Vessel

The Essex was an American whaling ship from Nantucket, Massachusetts, which was launched in 1799. It was considered a lucky vessel due to its history of profitable voyages. On its final journey, the Essex set sail from Nantucket in August 1819, intending to be at sea for about two and a half years. However, the ship met its demise in November 1820 when it was attacked and sunk by a sperm whale in the Pacific Ocean. The crew of 20 men, led by Captain George Pollard Jr., managed to escape in three small boats but faced a harrowing journey marked by dehydration, starvation, and ultimately, cannibalism. The Essex's tragic story inspired Herman Melville's classic novel, Moby-Dick.

The Essex was a whaling ship

The Essex was an American whaling ship from Nantucket, Massachusetts, which was launched in 1799. It was considered a lucky vessel, having completed six profitable whaling expeditions before its fateful voyage in 1819.

The Essex was small for a whaling ship, measuring 87-88 feet in length and weighing about 238-239 tons. It was powered by 12 sails and crewed by 21 men. The ship's living quarters were divided into three sections: the captain and two mates had cabins to the rear, the white crew members lived in the steerage section, and the African-American sailors occupied the forecastle at the front. The hold typically stored whale blubber, barrels, provisions, spare sails, and ropes.

The Essex was equipped with four to five specialised whaleboats, around 25-28 feet in length, which were launched when a whale was sighted. These boats were built for speed rather than durability, with overlapping planks.

On its final voyage, the Essex set sail from Nantucket on August 12, 1819, intending to hunt sperm whales in the South Pacific Ocean. However, the voyage was plagued by difficulties from the start. Just two days after departing, the ship was damaged by a squall in the Gulf Stream and nearly sank, losing two of its whaleboats. Despite this setback, Captain George Pollard Jr. decided to continue the voyage, and the Essex made its way to the Galapagos Islands.

In October 1820, while at Charles Island in the Galapagos, a prank by one of the sailors resulted in a fire that engulfed the island. This incident is believed to have led to the extinction of two species in the Galapagos ecosystem.

On November 20, 1820, about 2,000 nautical miles off the coast of South America, the Essex encountered a massive sperm whale that attacked and sank the ship. The whale, estimated to be 85 feet in length, rammed the Essex twice, causing it to sink. All 20 crew members initially survived the attack and managed to escape in the remaining whaleboats, but they faced a challenging journey ahead.

Fearing cannibals in the nearby islands, the crew opted to sail towards South America, a distance of over 4,000 miles. The journey was arduous, with the crew suffering from dehydration, starvation, and exposure. They resorted to cannibalism to survive, and by the time they were rescued, only eight of the original 20 crew members remained alive.

The Essex's tragic story inspired Herman Melville's classic novel, "Moby-Dick," published in 1851. The first mate, Owen Chase, and the cabin boy, Thomas Nickerson, both wrote accounts of their harrowing experiences, which served as source material for Melville's novel.

It was attacked by a sperm whale

The Essex was an American whaling ship that was attacked and sunk by a sperm whale on November 20, 1820. The ship, which was around 88 feet long, was considered small for a whaling vessel and had a crew of 21 men.

On the day of the attack, the Essex was about 2,000 nautical miles from the coast of South America. The crew had spotted a pod of sperm whales and set out in their three remaining whaleboats to pursue them. While this was happening, an unusually large sperm whale, reportedly around 85 feet in length, was seen acting strangely. It was floating near the ship and then began to swim towards it, picking up speed. The whale rammed the Essex, rocking it from side to side, and then dove under the ship, resurfacing on the starboard side. The whale appeared to be stunned, but it soon recovered and swam towards the ship's bow, crushing it and driving the vessel backwards. The Essex quickly began to sink.

The crew of the Essex, led by Captain George Pollard Jr., managed to retrieve their three whaleboats and some supplies from the sinking ship. They debated their next course of action, as the nearest islands, the Marquesas, were over 1,200 miles away, and there were concerns about cannibals inhabiting those islands. Eventually, they decided to head for the coast of South America, which was about 3,000 miles away. The journey was arduous and the sailors suffered from starvation, dehydration, and exposure. They resorted to cannibalism to survive.

The story of the Essex and its encounter with the sperm whale inspired Herman Melville's novel "Moby-Dick," published in 1851. The book is a classic seafaring tale that captures the fixation and fear whalers felt towards their quarry.

The Essex sank in the Pacific Ocean

The Essex was an American whaling ship that sank in the Pacific Ocean on November 20, 1820, after being attacked and rammed by a sperm whale. The ship, which was around 87 to 88 feet long, was considered small for a whaling vessel and had a crew of 21 men led by 29-year-old Captain George Pollard Jr.

The Essex's final voyage began on August 12, 1819, from Nantucket, Massachusetts. It was intended to be a two-and-a-half-year expedition to hunt sperm whales off the west coast of South America. However, the voyage was plagued by difficulties from the start. Just two days after setting sail, a squall in the Gulf Stream knocked the Essex on its beam-ends and nearly sank her, damaging two of the ship's whaleboats. Despite this early setback, Captain Pollard decided to continue the voyage, and the Essex sailed around Cape Horn towards South America.

In September 1820, the Essex reached the northern coast of present-day Ecuador, where sailor Henry DeWitt deserted the ship, leaving the crew dangerously undermanned. As whaling required six-man crews in three simultaneous boats, DeWitt's absence meant that only two sailors remained aboard the Essex during hunts. The crew continued their journey and eventually arrived at Charles Island (now called Floreana) in the Galapagos, where they captured tortoises for food. During their stay, helmsman Thomas Chapple accidentally set fire to the island, nearly costing the expedition.

On November 16, 1820, the Essex crew spotted their first whale, but it surfaced directly beneath first mate Owen Chase's whaleboat, damaging it. Four days later, on November 20, an unusually large sperm whale, approximately 85 feet long, attacked the Essex. The whale rammed the ship twice, rocking it violently and causing significant damage. Despite the crew's efforts to patch the hole, the Essex began to sink.

The 20 sailors abandoned the sinking ship and escaped in three intact whaleboats, captained by Pollard, Chase, and second mate Matthew Joy, respectively. They had limited food and potable water, as well as navigation instruments and rigging salvaged from the Essex. Pollard initially recommended sailing towards the nearest Marquesas Islands, but the crew, led by Chase, feared the presence of cannibals and instead chose to attempt the longer journey to South America.

The crew in the whaleboats endured dehydration, starvation, and exposure during their arduous journey. They resorted to eating food soaked in seawater and drinking their urine. They eventually reached Henderson Island, an uninhabited islet, on December 20, where they found some food and freshwater. However, they quickly depleted the island's resources and were forced to leave on December 26. Three men—William Wright, Seth Weeks, and Thomas Chapple—chose to remain on the island, while the remaining 17 men resumed their journey towards South America.

The conditions in the whaleboats continued to deteriorate, and the crew began to succumb to starvation and illness. They were forced to make the unthinkable decision to resort to cannibalism to survive. As the boats became separated and more crew members died, the situation grew increasingly dire. On February 18, 1821, Chase's boat was spotted by a British ship, Indian, and the three survivors were rescued. Pollard and the last surviving crew member, Charles Ramsdell, were rescued by the whaling ship Dauphin on February 23, 1821, 93 days after the sinking of the Essex.

In total, only eight sailors survived the Essex disaster: three who remained on Henderson Island and five who made it to South America. The harrowing ordeal of the Essex crew inspired Herman Melville's classic novel, "Moby-Dick," published in 1851. The story of the Essex's sinking and the crew's struggle for survival has captivated audiences for generations and continues to be recounted in various forms, including books, films, and documentaries.

The crew resorted to cannibalism

The Essex was an American whaling ship that was attacked and sunk by a sperm whale in the southern Pacific Ocean on November 20, 1820. The 20-man crew was forced to make for land in three whaleboats with limited food and water salvaged from the wreck.

The crew of the Essex suffered severe dehydration, starvation, and exposure during their time on the open ocean. This eventually led them to resort to cannibalism as a last resort for survival. Here is a detailed account of their ordeal:

The Decision to Resort to Cannibalism

As food and water rations dwindled, the crew of the Essex faced a harrowing decision. They knew that cannibalism was sometimes practised as a custom of the sea in desperate situations. With no other options, they made the agonizing choice to resort to cannibalism to stay alive.

The First Instances of Cannibalism

The first instance of cannibalism occurred on January 20, 1821, when Richard Peterson died on first mate Owen Chase's boat. His body was initially buried at sea, but it was later retrieved and cannibalised by the starving crew. This set a precedent for the grim fate that awaited those who perished.

Drawing Lots

As the situation became increasingly dire, the sailors drew lots to determine who would be killed and eaten. On February 6, 1821, Owen Coffin, the captain's 18-year-old cousin, drew the black spot. Captain Pollard objected, offering to take his place, but Coffin accepted his fate, saying, "I like my lot as well as any other." Coffin was shot and eaten by the crew.

The Psychological Toll

The decision to cannibalise their crewmates took a significant psychological toll on the survivors. Chase wrote in his memoir, "I have no language to paint the anguish of our souls in this dreadful dilemma." The trauma of their experience haunted many of the survivors for the rest of their lives.

Rescue and Aftermath

On February 18, 1821, 93 days after the sinking of the Essex, the remaining survivors were finally rescued. Eight sailors in total survived the ordeal, including three who had remained on Henderson Island. The survivors carried the psychological scars of their experience, and some, like Captain Pollard, faced rejection and resentment from their communities for their acts of cannibalism.

Eight of the twenty crew members survived

The Essex was an American whaling ship that was attacked and sunk by a sperm whale on November 20, 1820. The ship, which was located in the southern Pacific Ocean about 2,000 nautical miles from the coast of South America, was left severely damaged by the whale, forcing the 20-man crew to abandon ship and escape in three whaleboats with whatever food and water they could salvage.

The crew of the Essex spent the next 90 days at sea, enduring extreme deprivation and eventually resorting to cannibalism to survive. During this time, the three whaleboats became separated, and one was never heard from again. The remaining two boats, containing a total of 17 men, were eventually rescued by different ships off the coast of South America.

Of the original 20 crew members, eight survived. Three of the survivors were rescued from Henderson Island, an uninhabited atoll where they had chosen to remain while the others attempted the dangerous voyage to South America. The remaining five survivors were rescued from two separate boats, having endured extreme deprivation and resorted to cannibalism to stay alive.

The story of the Essex and its crew's harrowing ordeal captivated the public imagination and inspired Herman Melville's classic novel, "Moby-Dick." The first-hand accounts of the disaster, particularly those written by first mate Owen Chase and cabin boy Thomas Nickerson, provided a gripping narrative that influenced Melville's work.

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