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KF5JRV > TODAY 18.12.19 19:30l 25 Lines 1242 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 18197_KF5JRV
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Nov 20
Path: IZ3LSV<IW0QNL<VE2PKT<VA7RBP<KF5JRV
Sent: 191120/1248Z 18197@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQK6.0.18
On this day in 1820, the American whaler Essex, which hailed from
Nantucket, Massachusetts, is attacked by an 80-ton sperm whale 2,000
miles from the western coast of South America.
The 238-ton Essex was in pursuit of sperm whales, specifically the
precious oil and bone that could be derived from them, when an enraged
bull whale rammed the ship twice and capsized the vessel. The 20 crew
members escaped in three open boats, but only five of the men survived
the harrowing 83-day journey to the coastal waters of South America,
where they were picked up by other ships. Most of the crew resorted to
cannibalism during the long journey, and at one point men on one of the
long boats drew straws to determine which of the men would be shot in
order to provide sustenance for the others. Three other men who had been
left on a desolate Pacific island were saved later.
The first capture of a sperm whale by an American vessel was in 1711,
marking the birth of an important American industry that commanded a
fleet of more than 700 ships by the mid 18th century. Herman Melville’s
classic novel Moby Dick (1851) was inspired in part by the story of the
Essex.
73, Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV @ KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
Email: KF5JRV@GMAIL.com
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