The Wreck of the Whale-Ship Essex

Narrative Written by Survivor Owen Chase

In episode 70 of the podcast, we read from the “Narrative of the most extraordinary and distressing shipwreck of the whale-ship Essex, of Nantucket”. It’s one man’s account of the months that he, and 19 others, experienced after their ship was sunk by an angry sperm whale.

There were survivors, rescued by passing ships, but those men were never the same. We quickly find out that being stranded in the middle of the ocean can make a man do unthinkable things.

The Crew of the Essex

Of the original 21 crew members, only nine survived. Five were rescued at sea by passing ships. One man quit the crew well before the whale attack and three were found alive on Henderson Island.

Two men were given proper burials at sea. Six died of natural causes and had their bodies used to feed survivors. Three were missing and presumed dead from boat #3. Owen Coffin agreed to be shot and killed and his body used for food.

The Voyage

The Essex left Nantucket on August 12th, 1819. The whale attack occurred over a year after that on November 20th, 1820. Owen Chase’s small whaling boat was found on February 18th, 1821. Captain Pollard’s boat was found shortly after and the third boat was never seen again.

Land Ho!

On December 20th, 1820, the crew members of the Essex, in their three separate whaling boats, spotted an island that they believed to be called Ducies Island. By the time a ship arrived to rescue the three crew members that chose to stay on the island, they realized that they were actually on Henderson Island.

It would come out later that while stranded on the island the three men sought shelter inside of a cave. There they found the skeletal remains of six bodies, lined up in a row. That is a story for another time.

From First Mate to Author

Owen Chase was the Essex’s First Mate. After the ship was destroyed by a whale, he was placed in charge of boat #2. Since his boat was the oldest and had the most issues, he only had five other crewmen on board. The other two boats each had seven.

When he returned to Nantucket he quickly got to work on a book with a title nearly as long as the time he spent at sea. “Narrative of the most extraordinary and distressing shipwreck of the whale-ship Essex, of Nantucket; which was attacked and finally destroyed by a large spermaceti-whale, in the Pacific ocean; with an account of the unparalleled sufferings of the captain and crew during a space of ninety-three days at sea, in open boats, in the years 1819 and 1820. By Owen Chase of Nantucket, first mate of said vessel.”

Illustrations of the doomed ship

Inspiring a Classic

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), “Weaving contemporary accounts and his own experiences as a whaler, Melville created his American masterpiece. The young Melville was famously inspired by the story of George Pollard, the former captain of the whaler Essex.”

Herman Melville wrote and published ‘Moby Dick’ in 1851. In the book a sailor named Ishmael recounts the maniacal quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship Pequod, for vengeance against Moby Dick, the giant white sperm whale that bit off his leg on the ship’s previous voyage.

What inspired this episode?

The Mountain classic, “Nantucket Sleighride (to Owen Coffin). Written by bassist Felix Pappalardi and his wife, the song was loosely based on the tale of the Essex, specifically Owen Coffin who gave up his life to feed his starving crew mates.