Bitter End

Heart Of The Sea

By Captain J. Gary "Gator" Hill

There I was, my family and I, just playing in the water, swimming and spending some quality time together. when out of nowhere some guys rush up on us in boats, yelling and cursing at us. If that wasn’t bad enough, they threw things at us, one of them striking my mate a fatal blow. To top it of, this grizzled old guy, a frightful fella with a missing leg, hurled a big spear right at me. When I saw he’d become fouled in the rope attached to it, I knew how to end this nightmare. I dove. I dove deep and fast, pulling him down ever deeper into a watery grave that he so deserved. So, your honor, I did what any self-respecting creature would do, I defended myself and what was left of the family. Yes, I sank their stinking boat, and I would do it again.

If this sounds somewhat familiar, it might be because I imagine this as the defense Moby Dick might have used if pulled into court for the destruction of the Pequod, most of her crew and her master, Ahab. Although the story portrays the great white whale as the antagonist, I see him as the protagonist. A splendid creature minding its own business, in its own world, when suddenly invaded and attacked.

Published in 1851, this work of fiction is loosely based on true stories. Herman Melville's novel drew from his own experiences aboard whaling ships, the story of an albino whale dubbed Mocha Dick that proved hard to catch, while the ending was based on the tragedy of the whaling ship Essex, out of Nantucket.

During the late 1700s and early- to mid-1800s whaling was big business for fleets out of New England and many others around the world. One of the most prized whales was the sperm whale, hunted not only for meat and blubber, but also for a prized product called spermaceti, an organ of waxy substance found in the heads of these whales.

The head of a sperm whale is nearly one third of its total length, and a larger specimen of this family can contain nearly a ton of this waxy liquid gold from which the sperm whale gets its name. Spermaceti could bring as much as 20 percent more profit than the oils and blubber rendered from this creature. The two main uses for this substance were making high-quality lubricant such as machine oil, and for making candles that burned much brighter and cleaner than tallow candles of the period.

Back to the Essex, the vessel on which Melville based the Pequod. At 87 feet in length and about 24 feet on the beam, she wasn’t much bigger than the whales she hunted. Sperm whales often reach lengths of 60 feet, and according to surviving members of the Essex, the whale involved was as long as the ship. The tale of the Essex is a sad one in many ways, even long before she was sunk in the Pacific, several thousand miles off the coast of South America. She suffered a knock down early on in the voyage, and fishing was poor – these boats could sometimes be out a couple years at a time to make their catch. But on the morning of November 20, 1820, all the stars aligned for the final moments of ship and crew. The Essex spotted a huge bull whale, acting strangely and laying on the surface, which ended up leading to their demise. And the rest of the story you know (if you’ve read Moby Dick).

Sadly, I am running out of space, so I leave you with this. Read the book In the Heart of The Sea, by Nathaniel Philbrick, about the sinking of the Essex. Or if you choose, watch the movie. The book is excellent, the movie not bad. You might enjoy the seafaring journey back in time.

'Til our wakes cross again, peace and love, and shrimp and grits. I'll see you on the water!

Captain Gator has spent the past several decades truly living the salt life, from living on and racing sailboats, to being a paddle guide, to becoming a 100-ton master and working in the tour boat industry. A strong love of history and the water has shaped him into becoming one part educator, one part entertainer, and one part storyteller. When asked if he is a native, his reply is yes, by osmosis.

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