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Essex was an American whaling ship from Nantucket, Massachusetts, which was launched in 1799.On November 20, 1820, while at sea in the southern Pacific Ocean under the command of Captain George Pollard Jr., the ship was attacked and sunk by a sperm whale.
Undaunted, Pollard and Chase lead the expedition west. They find the grounds, but when they launch the whaling boats, a massive bull sperm whale with white, scarred skin damages the boats and turns on the ship. Chase harpoons it from the Essex deck, but the whale rams the hull, killing two men.
As first mate of Essex, 21-year-old Owen Chase left Nantucket on August 12, 1819, on a two-and-a-half-year whaling voyage. On the morning of November 20, 1820, a sperm whale (said to be around 85 feet; 26 m) twice rammed Essex, sinking her 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km) west of South America.
On Nov. 20, 1820, a whaling ship from Nantucket, Mass., was attacked by a large sperm whale in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. According to the Nantucket Historical Association, the boat was ...
The Essex, an American whaleship from Nantucket, Massachusetts, sank after a sperm whale attacked it in the Pacific Ocean in November 1820. Having lost their ship, the crew of the Essex attempted to sail to South America in whaleboats. After suffering from starvation and dehydration, most of the crew died before the survivors were rescued in ...
Four American ships that have worked as whalers (whaling ships) have borne the name Essex: Essex (1789 whaler) , was launched in Hampton, New Hampshire, and made at least two whaling voyages. Essex (1799 whaleship) , was launched in Amesbury, Massachusetts, and made seven recorded whaling voyages; she is most famous for the last, which ended ...
First mate Chase and a ghostwriter wrote an account of the ordeal entitled Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex. This was published soon after the return of the survivors, and was an inspiration for the Herman Melville classic, Moby-Dick (1851). [78]
The whale numbers less than 360 and has been in decline in recent years in large part because of collisions with ships and entanglement in commercial fishing gear.