Page 18. MAINE COASTAL NEWS March 2010
N a u t i c a l B o o k R e v i e ws
LEVIATHAN today know New Bedford for its fishing fleet, was a major issue between the motherland
The History of Whaling in America but what this town is really known for is the and the colonies as the motherland wanted
By Eric Jay Dolin part it placed in the history of whaling. As control of the industry.
479 pages; 2007; $27.95 children we were taken to the Whaling Mu- Nantucket headed all coastal towns as
W. W. Norton seum in New Bedford where we learned about the leader in whaling. This did not come
New York, NY the boats, captains and how it was done. I without issues. During the American Revolu-
also remember going to Mystic Seaport at tion they were caught in the middle and no
I spent my younger years growing up in Mystic, Connecticut and going on board the matter who they sided with it became a no win
Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, which is two CHARLES W. MORGAN. This certainly situation. The town’s people suffered ex-
towns to the east of New Bedford. Many sparked my interest. treme hardships, especially at the hands of
Whaling began with some of the earliest the British, and the whale fishery was devas-
settlers in the New World, which was already tated.
practiced by the Native Americans. Most of With the American Revolution over it
this whaling was done close to shore, or even was the whaleship BEDFORD that caused a
hoping for a dead one to float up on the beach. commotion when she sailed within sight of
It did not take long before the mariners the Tower of London. Even though the war
learned how profitable whaling could be and was not over her cargo was allowed to be off
slowly the industry began growing. loaded. Thus, began the rise of the American
There were a number of coastal towns whale fishery, but it was to fall again during
that took part in the early history, but it would the War of 1812. It would take a while follow-
at the Owls Head Transportation Museum,
begin to centre on Nantucket. This began as ing this war, but again the American whale
home to an operating collection of antique
a shore fishery or may be just going out for a fishery would rise to a preeminent status.
aircraft, automobiles, motorcycles and
more. Our special events include vintage car
month or two. Then it slowly expanded into This was the time that the whaling centre
fortunately, it would be the American Civil
rallies, antique airplane shows, free Model T
months and months and later years. There moved from Nantucket to New Bedford. Un-
War, several disasters in the Arctic, the dis-
rides and children’s activities!
covery of oil and the decrease in the number
CHILDREN UNDER 18 ARE FREE!
Complete Yacht Service in the Maine Tradition
of whales that would bring this industry to its
Owls Head
knees. Some fought hard to continue as
American sailors were replaced by foreigners
Transportation Museum
and less and less vessels left port for years at
sea to search for the elusive prey. The end
Open Every Day • Year Round
came in the mid-1920s when the WANDERER
117 MuseumSt. left port only to be wrecked 14 miles south on
Owls Head, Cuttyhunk Island.
two miles south
This was an very interesting book that
of Rockland,
• Boothbay Harbor’s Premier • Discounted Bulk FuelBoothbay Region Boatyard stands on a long tradition of
Mega Yacht Marina • Wireless Internetservice and superior craftsmanship in a thoroughly modern
gives the reader a good general understand-
Maine
• Deep Water • Private In-town Locationfacility. From traditional wood to the most modern, our
• 500 Feet of Beautiful Floating • Mooringsfactory-trained technicians can facilitate all types of refits ing of the history of whaling and how events
Docks • Fastidiously Clean Facilitiesand repairs for any type of yacht. Dockage and moorings are
effected it.• 30, 50, 100 Amp Power • Full Service Boatyard Availableavailable for transient vessels up to 80’.
WOTTON’S WHARF
THE LOST FLEET
A Yankee Whaler’s Struggle Against the
Southport, Maine Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Confederate Navy and Arctic Disasters
207.633.2970 •
brby.com • VHF Channel 9 207.633.7440 •
wottonswharf.com • VHF Channel 9
By Marc Songini
432 pages; 2007; $25.95
St. Martin’s Press
New York, NY
If you were looking for more when you
get done with “Leviathan,” than this is an
excellent follow up of some very specific
events. You will follow a New Bedford cap-
tain on his exploits, learn about the Stone
Fleet and the Confederate raiders of the
American Civil War, but even more devastat-
ing was the vessels caught in the Arctic ice
and crushed.
Captain Thomas William Williams of the
whaler FLORIDA of New Bedford would
head out on a whaling cruise. Despite the
hardships, he brought along his wife and
their child. The author describes life on board
and what took place on a typical whaling
voyage through the oceans of the world and
3 P C J O I P P E
the exotic lands they visited.
The Stone Fleet was an attempt of the
Union Navy to bottle up Southern vessels in
..A6<2 $2<D2A
their harbors. This was done by taking a
number of old whaling vessels, filling them
( F P S H F U P X O
. B J O F
with stone and sailing them south and sink-
ing them in a harbour’s entrance. However,
r . P O J U P S J O H 7 ) ' $ I B O O F M the most interesting aspect of the Civil War
X X X S P C J O I P P E N B S J O F D F O U F S D P N
was the Confederate raiders that captured
+
P J O V T B U 3 P C J O I P P E . B S J O F $ F O U F S T N J E D P B T U . B J O F M P D B U J P O B O E
and burned many a vessel. The most devas-
! F O E N P S F U J N F C P B U J O H 8 F B S F U I S F F N J M F T G S P N P Q F O P D F B O X J U I
tating was the raider that headed into the
F B T Z B D D F T T U I S P V H I U I F 4 I F F Q T D P U 3 J W F S 8 F I B W F U S B O T J F O U T M J Q T B O E
Arctic and continued capturing and burning
N P P S J O H T B O E P F S T F S W J D F T G P S T B J M B O E Q P X F S Z B D I U T V Q U P G F F U
vessels even though the war was over.
Fishing in the Arctic continued after the
r 1 S P U F D U F E ) B S C P S r 8 P P E ' J C F S H M B T T 3 F Q B J S
war, but as the number of whales decreased
F 0 T Q S F Z 3 F" B V S B O U
r ' V þ M 4 F S W J D F . B S J O B r % J F T F M ( B T & O H J O F 3 F Q B J S
r ' V þ M 5 J N F % P D L 4 U B r 8 B T U F 1 V N Q P V U
the further the ships sailed towards the north.
F 5 B W F S O B U 3 J ö H T $ P W F r : B D I U 3 J ö H J O H 4 F S W J D F T r ( B T % J F T F M ' V F M T
This came at a cost and the story of how the
r ' V þ M . B D I J O F 4 I P Q r $ P V S U F T Z $ B S
crew’s survived are most interesting.
Today, few people are passionate about
maritime history, mostly because we are not
a maritime nation as we once were. However,
we are fortunate that books such as these are
written, which allows the general reader to
become interested in very interesting sub-
ject. If you want two very interesting books
" S D I F E # S J E H F X J U I
% J O H I Z # B T J O
0 O F P G P V S N B O Z H B S E F O T - J W F + B [ [ ' S J E B Z / J H I U T 4 I P S F T J E F - J C S B S Z
) J T U P S Z " S U ( B þ M F S J F T to get you through the rest of winter and the
doldrums of spring, these are it!
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