Ship and Crew
The Essex was an elderly ship, but so many of her voyages were profitable she gained the reputation as a "lucky" vessel. Captain George Pollard and his first mate, Owen Chase, had served together on her previous, equally successful, trip, and it led to their promotions. Only 29, Pollard was one of the youngest men ever to command a whaling ship. Owen Chase was 23, and the youngest member of the crew was the cabin boy, Thomas Nickerson, who was only 15.
She had recently been totally refitted, but at 87 feet (27 m) long, and measuring 238 tons, unladen, she was small for a whaleship. The Essex was equipped with four separate whaleboats, each about 28 feet in length, which were launched from the ship. In addition, a spare was kept below decks. These boats were built for speed rather than durability, being Clinker built, with planks that overlapped each other rather than fitting flush together with more watertight seams.
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Famous quotes containing the words ship and/or crew:
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