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In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex. In 1820, an angry sperm whale sank the whaleship Essex, leaving its desperate crew to drift for more than ninety days in three tiny boats.
Nov 20, 2019 · Nov. 20, 1820: The Nantucket whaleship Essex was rammed and sunk by a massive sperm whale off the coast of South America — an infamous disaster that inspired Herman Melville’s classic, “Moby ...
The Essex’s great adventure began fifteen months out of its home port. The ship, which had left Nantucket August 12, 1819, and had enjoyed rather typical success in its hunt for whales, arrived by November 20, 1820, at a point a fewminutes south ofthe equator, 119 degrees wast longitude. At eight o’clock that morning whales were sighted and ...
Dec 8, 2021 · Only two days out of Nantucket, a storm caused considerable damage to the Essex, and decimated two of the whaleboats—20-foot open boats that were crewed by six men when actively pursuing a whale. Captain Pollard elected to continue around Cape Horn despite the damage, even as unsettled sailors questioned whether the storm had been an ill portent.
The Essex sailed from Nantucket for the Pacific on the morning of August 12, 1819, one of 34 vessels to depart on whaling voyages from the island that year. Built in 1799, the 238-ton Essex had made good financial returns on six previous voyages. Sailors considered it a lucky ship, even though it was now old and rather small.
The Tragedy of the Essex. In November 1820, an enraged sperm whale rammed and sank the Nantucket whaleship Essex in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 1,300 miles from the nearest land. Located in the Whaling Museum, Overlook Gallery View the exhibition overview
April/May 1983. Volume. 34. Issue. 3. On November 20, 1820, the Essex was struck by a whale in the middle of the Pacific and sank almost immediately, stranding her crew in small boats thousands of miles from land. FOR THE WHALING MEN OF NANTUCKET , the year 1819 looked to be an especially promising one. The island’s famed whaling fleet ...
