Whaleship Essex: A Whale Sank Their Ship, 90 Days Adrift — the True Survival Story Behind Moby-Dick

On 20 November 1820, a sperm whale rammed and sank the Nantucket whaleship Essex in the middle of the Pacific. Twenty men took to three small boats, about 2,000 nautical miles from South America. Fearing cannibals on the nearest islands, they chose the longest route home. Eight survived. This is the true story that inspired Herman Melville's Moby-Dick. Note: this episode describes survival cannibalism, factually and without graphic detail. The whaleship Essex sailed from Nantucket in 1819. The sinking of the whaleship Essex by a sperm whale is a true survival story that shaped American literature. Survivors of the whaleship Essex spent about 90 days in open boats; eight came home. This true survival story is told from first mate Owen Chase's 1821 narrative and later research on the whaleship Essex. CHAPTERS 0:00 The whale 1:32 Nantucket 3:18 The offshore ground 4:51 The sperm whale 6:21 The choice 7:41 Henderson Island 9:12 Hunger 10:34 The lots 12:07 Rescue 13:44 Moby-Dick New true survival story every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday — subscribe to Survival Story Hour. Follow on Facebook:   / survivalstoryhour   ─────────────── SOURCES FOR THIS TRUE SURVIVAL STORY • Wikipedia — Essex (whaleship): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essex_(...) • Britannica — Essex (whaling ship): https://www.britannica.com/topic/Esse... • Smithsonian Magazine — The True-Life Horror That Inspired Moby-Dick: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/histor... • Wikipedia — Owen Coffin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Co... • Owen Chase, Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex (1821) • Nathaniel Philbrick, In the Heart of the Sea (2000) • Historical images: public domain via Wikimedia Commons. Henderson Island photos: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO / CC BY-SA 3.0 / CC BY 2.0 by their Wikimedia Commons authors The whale's size (about 85 ft / 26 m) is an estimate from survivors and may be exaggerated. Some details, such as Pollard offering to take Owen Coffin's place, come from survivors' accounts and later retellings. Every true survival story on Survival Story Hour is told from real sources. These are true stories, not survival advice. If you are in danger, contact your local emergency services. Narration uses a synthetic voice. Background music is original and generated for this channel. #TrueSurvivalStory #WhaleshipEssex #SurvivalStories