The ship «Essex, under the command of the young captain George Pollard Jr., was considered one of the most successful in its whaling catch. The crew of the rather old vessel included many experienced sperm-whale hunters. And as he set out on yet another voyage, Pollard was confident the venture would succeed.
A wave of misfortune
On August 12, 1819, the «Essex set out from Nantucket, Massachusetts. And from the very start of the expedition, misfortune began to dog the crew. The whaling ship was caught in a fierce storm and nearly sank. The alarm among the sailors and some of the officers of the «Essex» grew noticeably. The captain’s decision to land on the Galapagos Islands to stock up on additional provisions for the rest of the voyage somewhat calmed the crew. The giant tortoises that lived here made excellent prey.
Everyone’s spirits lifted, but a bad joke by the sailor Thomas Chappel nearly led to tragedy. A fire he lit aboard the ship for a laugh almost cost his comrades their lives. They barely escaped the ring of flames.
On the morning of November 20, 1820, even through a light haze of mist, those aboard the «Essex» spotted a spout gush up not far off. Three boats were immediately lowered into the water, on which the sailors readied their harpoons. Alas, the hunters never managed to haul the first whale they caught back to the «Essex». It nearly dragged the boat under. And they had to cut the harpoon line.
The attack
Meanwhile, from the whaling ship, the crew watched in terror as a huge sperm whale rushed swiftly toward the vessel. Its size was simply staggering! And this giant made no secret of its intentions: it was charging in to ram. The first blow against the ship was of such terrible force that the «Essex» immediately keeled over onto its side. And ocean water poured onto the deck and into the holds. Then the whale smashed the bow of the ship with its head. And now it was perfectly clear: the «Essex» was going down. As for the sperm whale, after striking the splinters with its enormous tail, it calmly slipped off into the depths of the ocean.
Now the crew of the lost ship was saving itself on three boats. By the captain’s order, they were lashed together. And across the waves of the Pacific Ocean drifted a strange raft, filled with frightened people. No one in the crew any longer doubted that what had befallen the sailors was the whales’ revenge.
Three months in the ocean
They would spend 90 days in the ocean. Only eight surviving members of the «Essex» crew would return home. Among them would be Captain George Pollard Jr. Each of the surviving sailors would keep in his memory those terrible and cruel days when they had to draw the dreadful lot. The black mark meant death for the unfortunate one, and for his comrades the chance not to starve to death.
In 1852, the book «Moby-Dick» by the American writer Herman Melville would be published, and many films about the tragedy of the «Essex» would later be made based on it.
The «Flying Dutchman»: the story of a ghost ship that still remains a mystery
