‘In the Heart of the Sea’

[MARCH 14, 2001]   In the Heart of the Sea." Nathaniel Philbrick, Viking, 2000, 302 pages.

The exploits of those who have sailed the open seas have always captured the public’s fascination. One of the most incredible stories to emerge from the annals of seafaring history is that of the 19th century American whale ship Essex, a story described in Nathaniel Philbrick’s book "In the Heart of the Sea."

Sailing from Nantucket, Mass., on Aug. 12, 1819, the Essex and its crew experienced an unimaginable event when, on Nov. 20, 1820, a huge sperm whale rammed the ship on two successive attacks. The attack forced the crew to abandon the sinking ship and face the vast emptiness of the Pacific Ocean.

Their odyssey slowly disintegrated into a sailor’s worst nightmare: starvation, madness and death while lost on the sea. The most shocking aspect of this episode was the murder and cannibalism of some of the shipmates in order to sustain the survivors. By the time the remaining crew members were located in February 1821, their rescuers encountered men resembling human skeletons who were barely clinging to life.

 

The accounts of this harrowing experience captured the attention of a writer who had gone to sea for adventure: Herman Melville. Melville shared an interest in the seafaring life and the whaling industry, and he used the Essex incident as the inspiration for the climactic scene in his novel "Moby Dick."

As a hunting vessel the Essex represented a 19th century version of a floating processing factory. She was designed to carry a working crew and the supplies needed to conduct a whale hunt lasting up to three years. During that time the crew was expected to harpoon and kill sperm whales and process them for their precious oil. This processing would involve removing the blubber, chopping it up and boiling it to extract the oil. The ships were built and outfitted out of Nantucket, one of the principal centers of the North American whaling industry.

Whaling was an extremely dangerous profession. As Philbrick notes, "That all of this was conducted on the limitless Pacific Ocean meant that the whalemen of the early 19th century were not merely seagoing hunters and factory workers but also explorers, pushing out farther and farther into a scarcely charted wilderness."

It is the actual whale hunt that provided the greatest danger to the men and their ship. Philbrick describes the dangers: "Harvesting sperm whales…was no easy matter. Six men would set out from the ship in a small boat, row up to their prey, harpoon it, then attempt to stab it to death with a lance. The sixty ton creature could destroy the whaleboat with a flick of its tail, throwing the men into the cold ocean water, often miles from the ship."

 

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These are the circumstances under which the 21-member crew of the Essex found themselves as they roamed the Pacific Ocean in search of these "warm blooded oil deposits." It was during one of these routine hunts that the ship encountered the 85-foot whale that attacked the Essex.

The account of the attack and the crew’s subsequent ordeal was recounted by the survivors and, later on, in two written narratives. First Mate Owen Chase and cabin boy Thomas Nickerson wrote of their experiences in published accounts that remain with us to this day.

One of the most poignant moments in Nickerson’s account comes in his description of the attack on the Essex. According to Nickerson, First Mate Chase had the opportunity to slay the whale after the first attack — but he hesitated. Because it was near the ship’s rudder, Chase feared that the injured whale might damage the steering device and send the ship helplessly adrift in the Pacific. Chase held off, allowing the whale to launch its second attack. It was the second attack that left the Essex damaged beyond repair, forcing the crew to abandon ship and take their chances on the open sea.

In his account of the attack, Nickerson wrote, "But could [Chase] have foreseen all that so soon followed he probably would have chosen the lesser evil and have saved the ship by killing the whale even at the expense of losing the rudder." Although he never mentioned it in his own narrative, Chase probably thought the same thing. In the end a rudderless ship would have been preferable to the horror that awaited them.

 

"In the Heart of the Sea" is an exciting and gripping narrative of one of the most famous events in seafaring history. Philbrick’s thorough documentation and research bring to life the perilous world of 19th century whale hunting. The story of the ill-fated voyage of the Essex, once relegated to the shadows of history, has been masterfully retold in the grand tradition of a seafaring adventure. "In the Heart of the Sea" is highly recommended to all adult and young adult readers.

For more information visit the library at 725 Pekin St. or call 217-732-8878.

[Richard Sumrall, Lincoln Public Library District]

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