November 20, 1820  The Real Moby Dick

The whaleship Essex set sail from Nantucket in August 1819, the month when Herman Melville was born.  The 21 man crew expected to spend 2-3 years hunting sperm whales, filling the ship’s hold with oil before returning to split the profits of the voyage.

Essex sailed down the coast of South America, rounding the Horn and entering the Pacific Ocean.  They heard that the whaling grounds near Chile and Peru were exhausted, so they sailed for the “offshore grounds”, almost 2,000 miles from the nearest land.

They were there on November 20, 1820, with two of their three boats out hunting whales.  The lookout spotted a huge bull sperm whale, much larger than normal, estimated at 85 feet long and 80 tons.  He was behaving oddly, lying motionless on the surface with his head facing the ship.  In moments the whale began to move, picking up speed as he charged…