Courtesy of Robert Schwemmer Maritime Library
Posted on 01/08/2016 12:24:03 AM PST by SunkenCiv
The shipwrecks, and parts of other ships, that were found are most likely the remains of 33 ships trapped by pack ice close to the Alaskan Arctic shore in September 1871...
The ships were destroyed in a matter of weeks, leaving more than 1,200 whalers stranded at the top of the world until they could be rescued by seven ships of the fleet standing by about 80 miles to the south in open water off Icy Cape. No one died in the incident but it is cited as one of the major causes of the demise of commercial whaling in the United States...
Using state-of-the-art sonar and sensing technology, the NOAA team was able to plot the “magnetic signature†of the two wrecks, including the outline of their flattened hulls. The wreck site also revealed anchors, fasteners, ballast and brick-lined pots used to render whale blubber into oil...
On Sept. 12, 1871, the captains of the 33 whaling ships caught in the ice convened aboard the Champion to consider their options for saving the 1,219 officers, crew, and in some cases, families, from their fate. Although, their situation was dire, there was some small glimmer of hope for rescue by seven nearby ships.
However, to save such a large party, the rescuing whale ships had to jettison their precious cargoes of whale oil, bone and their expensive whaling gear to make room for the survivors. The rescue ships were able to sail safely out of the Arctic and back to Honolulu, where hundreds of native Hawaiian whalers aboard the stranded vessels lived, while others sailed on to San Francisco, New Bedford and other cities.
(Excerpt) Read more at noaanews.noaa.gov ...
Courtesy of Robert Schwemmer Maritime Library
My favorite! Bookmark for tomorrow!
Too bad Al Gore wasn’t around to tell them that burning all that whale oil would melt the Arctic.
pong
I clipped out the crap about how this research was only possible because of climate change.
My pleasure.
I guess crude oil had nothing to do with it?
exactly this.
whalers dying is not the reason it stopped...it was the creation of the oil barrel as an easy way of transporting something cheaper and more abundant.
so you know what saved the whales...oil did....
:’)
The USA is $25 trillion in debt. Prioritize.
Capitalism did.
Wow...just another story to add you my portfolio on “why I hate cold weather”. Yikes!
I love how these “discoveries” always happen around a movie release.
Mars, whales....what next
Quick send in the anti-whaling protesters! (sarcasm)
Dear Lord... ruins the reading experience, I can't even continue now that I know it was written by a buffoon.
And we appreciate that clipping, Civ.
I thought this was a Hillary thread...
bkmk
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