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Cape Cod: whaling
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articles & blogs: whaling
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Sick At Sea
Volumes could be written encompassing the hundreds of numerous and tragic adventures of the sea captains and sailors of Cape Cod in the heyday of China runs and whaling. -
Capturing A Whale
When the spout of a whale was sighted, there was heard the famous cry of the lookout man: “Thar’ she blows!” Sails were trimmed according to distance, and the ship made to head as… -
Sperm Whales
Back in the days of whaling, the sperm whale yielded the finest and most valuable oil. The sperm whale, a toothed whale, has teeth, but only in the lower jaw. -
Plum Duff, A Sea-Going Dessert
Most landlubbers would turn pale at the thought of eating plum duff. No wonder! It was the sea-going dessert on whalers, clippers, and other long-distance sailing vessels, and a far cry from the delicious… -
Whaler of Dennis
When Dennis was known as the East Parish of Yarmouth (which was the case up to 1793), one of its foremost inhabitants was a certain Captain Ichabod Paddock. -
By Guess and By God
Whaling was hard under any conditions, but doubly hard in the frozen north. There were no charts of these waters then, the gyro compass had not been invented, so they sailed blind, or “by guess… -
The Pilgrims and the Whales
The Pilgrim’s first recorded attempt at whaling was while the good ship Mayflower lay at anchor in what was later to be called Provincetown Harbor. It happened in this manner: -
A Neat Name for Every Ship
Cape Cod’s ports and other ports on the New England seaboard sent many a whaler to sea. It is interesting to observe the kinds of names which the shipowners gave their vessels. -
Reminders Of Whaling Days
It is said that one hundred and fifty sea captains lived in Dennis in 1837; and Brewster in 1850, boasted of having more skippers than any other port in the country. -
When a Whaler Weighed Anchor
The object of weighing anchor was, of course, to get a ship under way, and not to find out how much the anchor weighed. One must not think, either, that weighing anchor and getting sail spread and the… -
Meals Aboard A Whaler
The staple dish on some whaling ships was a thing called Lobscouse—a stew made of hard-tack and slush (fat), boiled with molasses and water. Potato Scouse was the same thing, with potatoes substituted… -
Whale Sinks Whaler
This interesting piece of information comes from the Vineyard Gazette for July 21, 1854, and, incidentally, shows how slowly news traveled in those days. -
Shooks & Flukes
The days and nights, month after month, spent on the famous whaling ships of Cape Cod were filled with hours of excitement, adventure, of times when men and small ship were pitted against the churning… -
Whale Carries Harpoon 20 Years
Starbuck, in his History of the American Whale Fishery, carries a note from the New Bedford Shipping List which says that Captain Hamblen, of the bark Andrew Hicks, from Westport, Massachusetts,… -
Ease ‘Er When She Pitches
You might recollect the fable by Aesop which tells of the mighty oak that resisted a great wind and was brought by the wind crashing to the ground. There it lay in dishonor. -
Scrimshaw Art
The article most commonly made by whalemen when they “scrimshawed” was the decorated sperm whale tooth. Large ivory teeth, sometimes weighing over five pounds and over nine inches long were… -
The Last Whaler
The last whaler or rather whaling skipper of Provincetown was Captain John Atkins Cook. He retired in 1916. After he quit the sea Captain Cook wrote a pretentious account of his voyages and had it published.… -
There She Blows!
Whaling of old was as packed with thrills and dangers as the whale was with wanted oil. When Cape Cod and other whalers took whaleboat oars and harpoons into their hands in the hunt, they also took… -
Down to the Sea in Ships
No stories have ever been written that can compare with the logs and journals of New England whalemen, telling of battles, tragedies, adventures, and heroic deeds. Nor do many of us realize how much… -
A Whaling We Go!
When spring arrived at Cape Cod in the years that saw Cape Cod and Nantucket sailing vessels everywhere on the seas, the whalers belonging to the Cape were to venture forth on new voyages for whales.… -
A Whale’s Tail
The only way a man can get ahead in life is to use his head, but not so with a whale. A whale’s tail, unlike the vertical tail of a fish is horizontal. -
Warship Sank Ten Whalers
Down to the bottom went, in a single day of the year 1865, ten whalers of our local ports. The Civil War between North and South had in fact ended before that day, but the Confederate warship Shenandoah… -
Blackfish Ashore
When the legislators of Massachusetts became all tangled up during the summer of 1955 in a debate on whether blackfish are really fish or a type of whale, the Provincetown Advocate waxed eloquent… -
What the Whalers Ate
Cooks aboard the whalers served the men strong vittles. Keeping in mind that the whaling ships were often at sea for “a couple years”, the main items on the whaleship menu were: -
How Much Was Whale Oil Worth?
When ships were outfitted, crews engaged, and long voyages undertaken in pursuit of whales for their oil, it… -
Rejoicing in Hyannis
When the whaling business came to Hyannis, in 1854, the townspeople were thrilled at the prospect of prosperity’s being “just round the corner.” The ship Enterprise, owned by… -
The Red Headed Mermaid
“Any man who would go to sea for pleasure would go to hell for pastime.” This was what one Yarmouth skipper had to say about the “romantic” sea. But it couldn’t have been… -
Runaway Horse Leads to Rich Find
A little over one hundred-fifty summers ago, a resident of Wellfleet, Captain Daniel Rich, had an unusual experience. One of his horses ran away, and in pursuing the animal in its pasture, Capt. Rich… -
Nantucket Whaling Museum
The Nantucket Historical Association’s Whaling Museum is a must see for anyone going to Nantucket. The museum features the restored 1847 candle factory, an 1849 Fresnel Lens used in Sankaty Head… -
Right and Wrong Kind of Whales
In the early shore-whaling days only the “right” whale was taken, other species being dismissed as, “wrong” for the purpose of -
How the Cape Cod Towns Ranked in Whale Fishing 1854
The records of 1854 show that as a whaling port, Provincetown topped other Cape ports. Receipts of the whale fishery during the year were: Falmouth, 513 barrels whale oil, 1828 barrels sperm; Provincetown,…
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