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 Essex, american whaling ship that was rammed by a sperm whale on november 20, 1820, and later sank, sending its crew on an arduous journey to safety. For the crew of the essex, it was a day flecked with hope After the whaleship essex was sunk by a vengeful sperm whale, its crew was left on the high seas for 90 days — causing them to resort to cannibalism The essex set sail in 1819, hoping for a successful whaling expedition Instead, the ship was sunk by a whale attack, leading to a brutal struggle for survival.
The whaleship essex essex model, by mark sutherland, 2011.29.1 No one knows exactly what the essex looked like This model is based on close study of period ship portraits and details preserved in the ship's government registration documents Which was attacked and finally destroyed by a large spermaceti whale, in the pacific ocean The boats were eventually separated by storms and darkness, and after more than 90 days two of them, holding five survivors, were picked up by. Learn how a real whaling ship, the essex, was sunk by a giant sperm whale in 1820, and how the survivors faced starvation, madness and cannibalism
It was a routine whaling voyage The men expected to spend two to three years hunting whales and filling the ship's hold with sperm oil, then return to nantucket to receive their share of the profits
OPEN
