ShipsOver the 85 years of the British Southern Whale Fishery over 930 vessels sailed in the British whaling and sealing trade.
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Whaling Ships in the British Southern Whale Fishery
British Southern Whale Fishery Ships
Over the 85 years of the British Southern Whale Fishery some 930 vessels sailed as part of the British Southern Whale Fishery. For much of the life of the trade the main source of vessels were re-purposed merchantmen or Admiralty prizes (the histories of many the former Navy and Admiralty Prize vessels have been contributed to Wikipedia by colleague Adrian Tschoegel).
Only after 1825 did specialist built whaleships start entering the trade in any numbers with the main builder being the Blackwall Yard owned by the families of Wigram & Green. These specialist built whaleships were designed to sail to the whaling grounds and back as quickly as possible and did not have the characteristic bluff-bowed shape favoured by British Arctic whalers and the Americans. British vessels of this period also tended to favour a different colouring scheme to the whaleships of other nations, being characterised by brown futtocks and yellow-orange-cream gun ports rather than the black futtocks and white gun ports favoured by American, Colonial and French whalers. An earlier reference to British whaleships (circa 1796) described two whaleships as both painted upper half red – lower black – yellow line along the rail.
Many whaleships in the trade had long careers in the fishery with 164 vessels undertaking five voyages or more voyages but the trade was certainly a dangerous business with around 200 vessels lost.
Active, operating 1838-1842
Active was the last whaleship commissioned for the firm of Green, Wigrams & Green and the last to be built in their Blackwall Yard. One of the few surviving letters between the partners refers to the new ship being prepared for Captain Brookes and the desire of the Wigrams that it be 'Yard’ property, 'as the other whalers are'. This reference to the requirement for 'Yard' ownership may already indicate that the partners business interests were diverging for in the three years prior to Active's launch, each of the families had built and launched vessels outside of the 'Yard' partnership.
At 461 tons Active was close to 100 tons larger than other whaleships built at Blackwall Yard and continued the preference for ship rigged vessels. Only Narwhal, launched as a bark, went against this pattern but as Narwhal was originally commissioned for the whaleship owner William Mellish, this probably reflected Mellish’s preference. A painting of Active, exists, but its present location is unknown.
Active sailed in late May 1838 under the command of William Tolley Brookes with the Timor Fishery its stated destination. Specific nomination of the Timor Ground is unusual. First, such a specific nomination in stated destination in Lloyds List occurred rarely. More often, whaleship destinations were simply recorded 'south seas' or 'south seas fishery'. Second reason, is that Brookes had, at least on his previous three cruises, preferred the Horn route to that of the Cape of Good Hope. This raises the question of whether Brookes was sailing with the benefit of commercial 'intelligence' gathered by the firm's other whaleships. Later events around Timor indicate that this may have been the case.
The first whale was taken before arriving in the Timor Strait and the Active cruised in the waters around the Moluccas for the next 22 months, an unusually long time in one place but perhaps reflective of British whalemen’s growing understanding of sperm whales in Indonesian waters. Brookes' route over this period suggests that the British had come to understand that the Indonesian waters were a series of interconnected grounds where whaling could, with little repositioning of a vessel, be pursued for much of the year. This contrasts with the defined seasonal patterns of the Pacific grounds. The other important thing to note is the extraordinary concentration of English whaleships in Indonesian waters. Between late October 1838 and December 1839 Active 'spoke' 22 English whaleships in contrast to six American whaleships. Such a concentration of English whaleships was exceptional. Something like one-third of the English whaling fleet were in Indonesian waters at some time during this fourteen month period and many, like Active, were there for the whole duration. Also noteworthy is the presence of so many English ships in comparison with the Americans, who at this time outnumbered the English whale fleet in total by a factor of perhaps seven or eight to one.
After two years whaling on the East Indian grounds, Active sailed north-east past the Bonin Islands towards Hawaii. At Woahoo [Oahu] men deserted and the master had considerable difficulty controlling the intemperate habits of the crew. On leaving Hawaii Active spent the rest of the year on the Equator before heading south to Port Jackson. A report from Sydney recorded in Lloyds List in early May 1841 must have been reassuring for the partners – Active had on board 1,900 barrels in stark contrast to recent poor performances by Matilda, Vigilant, and Eleanor.
After leaving Sydney Active sailed north-east again and spent the rest of the year chasing, but not catching, whales 'on-the-line', with only 460 barrels being taken in nearly eleven months. In late November 1841, Active called at the Bay of Islands before sailing home for England, where it arrived on 5 May 1842. The Times records, that 'Active came into the River with one of the richest cargoes ever brought into this port - 3,850 barrels of oil - besides whalebone, etc.' Yet, Active's log records the ship carrying only 2,332 barrels and during the voyage Active had not taken a single baleen whale (i.e. no whalebone was taken). It is hard to guess at why such a discrepancy should exist. It can’t be explained simply in the difference between the Queen Anne and Imperial measurement systems. Even so, whatever the 'real' cargo was it was of good enough size to realise a profit but this was Active's first and only voyage for GW&G. It was also William Tolley-Brookes' last command for GW&G, as he retired from whaling. [DC]
HARPOONER, operating 1830–1848
The Harpooner (374 tons) was the first whaleship built and launched for the firm of Green, Wigrams & Green at their Blackwall Yard shipyard on the Thames in 1830. Over the next eight years the firm built and launched another four whaleships for their fleet.
The Harpooner made four whaling voyages for the firm. The first voyage between 1830 and 1833 under the command of John Clark was very successful. Clark again sailed in command in 1833 but died early in the voyage, the cruise being completed under the command of the first mate. The third voyage under Abijah Lock was from 1837 to 1841. The crew list records that on return to London that Lock was unable to sign his name ‘through a hurt’.
The last voyage was a long one, commencing in 1842 and not being completed until 1848. It appears as if the Master (William Debney) became aware sometime during the voyage that the firm had been dissolved in 1843 as the voyage shifted from a focus on whaling to finish as a merchant voyage. It appears that Harpooner on dissolution of the partnership was retained by Richard Green.
Whilst whaling near the Solomons in early 1845 the Harpooner was badly damaged by a hurricane, losing her mizzen-mast and main topmast, sprung her foremast and lost or damaged all of her boats. The vessel made for Sydney for repairs where Debney transhipped the cargo of oil to London, planning a further cruise to the whaling grounds. That cruise was marred by ill-luck with many of the crew deserting. Debney called at Hobart in late 1846 and supplemented the cargo of oil with freight before sailing for London via Adelaide in December 1846. For some reason Debney left the vessel in Adelaide and under a new commander on departure for London via Sydney it became apparent that the vessel was ‘leaky’ with the vessel struggling to leave Australian waters. Harpooner finally sailed for London in late 1847 arriving 11 February 1848 after a voyage of over 70 months.
Two paintings of Harpooner exist. A painting of the vessel leaving England in 1830 in the collection of the Science Museum, London (probably by Huggins) and a painting from 1831 in the collection of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich (by W. J. Huggins) in company with another Green, Wigrams & Green whaleship, the Vigilant. The Vigilant and Harpooner are known to have never sailed together in company and so the location depicted in the painting is likely fictitious. [DC]
Sources:
Chronicles of Blackwall Yard
A Trade so Uncontrollably Uncertain: A study of the English Southern Whale Fishery from 1815 to 1860 - MA Thesis (1996) – Dale Chatwin
Whaleship Harpooner ‘1830’ - painted by Huggins?
The ships' Vigilant' and 'Harpooner' offshore
MATILDA, operating 1829–1845
The Matilda, a former Navy sloop named HMS ESk and built in 1813, was the Green, Wigrams & Green’s partnerships first whaleship and was refitted extensively to at their Blackwall Yard shipyard before putting to sea in 1829 under the Commodore of the firm’s whaling fleet, Robert Pockley.
Over the next 17 years the vessel was commanded by some of the firm’s most successful whaling masters and the 1832 cruise under William Tolley Brookes was particularly successful. Another famous Master was William Swain who had previously commanded the Sarah & Elizabeth on which Thomas Beale of The Natural History of the Sperm Whale fame had returned home.
There is a log for the vessel’s second voyage in the collection of the NMM which indicates some issues in sailing but the vessel does appear to have served the firm very well through four voyages until it was put up for sale in 1845 following the dissolution of the partnership in 1843.
A painting of the vessel leaving England by James Miller Huggins, son of William John Huggins, and probably painted in 1829, is in the collection of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich.
[DC]
Sources:
Chronicles of Blackwall Yard
A Trade so Uncontrollably Uncertain: A study of the English Southern Whale Fishery from 1815 to 1860 - MA Thesis (1996) – Dale Chatwin
The Ship ‘Matilda’ and cutter ‘Zephyr’
NARWHAL, operating 1834-1852
The Narwhal (370 tons) was built and launched for the firm of Green, Wigrams & Green at their Blackwall Yard shipyard on the Thames in 1834. The vessel had originally been commissioned for the whaleship owner, William Mellish, but on his death in 1834 the vessel was taken over by the firm. The Blackwall Yard had previously built the Thames (370 tons) and Sir James Cockburn (340 tons) for William Mellish and it is clear that the Blackwall Yard built whaleships to a specific ‘type’ or 'specification'.
A Certificate of Registry, dated London 28 April 1835, no. 128. (NMM GRN/14) survives and describes Narwhal as has having two decks and three masts, one hundred and five feet five inches in length, twenty-eight feet ten inches wide at widest point, height between decks six feet six inches, square rigged with a standing bowsprit, square sterned and carvel built, with no galleries and with a woman bust figurehead. Despite being completed in November 1834 the Narwhal didn’t sail until December 1835, sailing under the command of William Darby Brind and surviving images clearly show the vessel bark rigged. The cruise was very successful and the vessel docked in London in December 1838. The vessel sailed again in May 1839 under Brind but he left the vessel in November 1840 leaving the vessel under the command of the first mate, Edward Baker. The vessel immediately returned to whaling before arriving in London until September 1841. The Narwhal left on its third cruise, again under Baker, in late December 1841 returning in September 1844 a ‘full ship'.
The Green and Wigram partnership had been dissolved by that time and most of the whaling fleet sold but Richard Green decided to keep the Narwhal and purchased her for £2900. Narwhal undertook two more voyages for Green. The first between 1845 and 1848 was reasonably successful but the last between 1849 and 1852 was very unsuccessful. Narwhal was dry docked on 31 January 1853 then moved to the West India Dock on 25 February pending sale. At least two images of Narwhal exist on scrimshaw - both depicting the vessel bark rigged. [DC]
Sources:
Chronicles of Blackwall Yard
A Trade so Uncontrollably Uncertain: A study of the English Southern Whale Fishery from 1815 to 1860 - MA Thesis (1996) – Dale Chatwin
PERSEVERANCE, operating 1801-1854
Built in 1801 at Rotherhithe for the firm of Peter and William Mellish specifically for the southern whale fishery the Perserverance was valued at £14 000 when new. The vessel, along with the Seringapatam (another Mellish vessel), was one of the longest serving vessels in the British Southern Whale Fishery undertaking 17 voyages (15 for Mellish). On Mellish’s death the vessel passed into the ownership of another London shipowner, Joseph Somes. [DC]
SAMUEL ENDERBY, operating 1834-1854
Built at West Cowes by Thomas White for the Enderby family and launched in 1834. The Registration Certificate records London 9 Oct 1834/300 : 422 57/94ths tons, standing bowsprit, square sterned, carvel built, quarter galleries, man figure head; 2 decks, 3 masts; L 107'9", B 29'10" above, D 6'4" between decks [PRO : BT 107/65].
The vessel undertook four cruises for the Enderby family before majority ownership was sold to William Lisle (a former master) and Elhanan Bicknell, spermaceti refiner. Bicknell was a patron of the painter William Turner. In 1849 Lisle and Bicknell sold the vessel to the Southern Whale Fishery Company which placed the vessel under the control of the Enderby family once again. Between 1849 and 1854 the vessel was employed in whaling from the Company’s Auckland Islands Whaling settlement and on the demise of the company was sold. [DC]
Sources:
Samuel Enderby hull model (1834)
Samuel Enderby (Print) 1834
VIGILANT, operating 1831-1842
The Vigilant (383 tons) was built and launched by the firm of Green, Wigrams & Green at their Blackwall Yard shipyard on the Thames in 1831.
The vessel sailed in October 1831 and demonstrated her fine sailing qualities on the voyage out with her Master (Samuel Swain) recording on 30 November 1831 that she passed another vessel ‘like a shot’. The Vigilant sailed via Timor, New Guinea and finally New Zealand before heading to Sydney ‘to put in Kentlage’ [i.e. ballast] as the vessel’s handling had deteriorated in heavy seas due to the weight of her cargo. In Sydney the Master transhipped the cargo for London and ventured out for a second whaling voyage finally returning to London in August 1835.
The Vigilant sailed on its second cruise under a new commander (Munro) in October 1835 again for Timor. In Kupang, the Master’s wife, who had accompanied him on the cruise, succumbed to illness and less than three months later the Master of the vessel was also dead. The first mate took command but the rest of the voyage did not go well and the vessel saw two more captains take command before arriving back in London in December 1838.
The Vigilant departed on her third and final voyage for the Green, Wigrams & Green partnership in March 1839 sailing for Timor and the Japans under Edward Grey. In February 1842 the Master died on board not long after having departed Kupang with the first mate sailing the vessel back to England to arrive in August 1842. When the Green, Wigrams & Green partnership was dissolved the Vigilant was sold and resumed her career as ‘black whaling’ off the east coast of South Africa.
A painting of the Vigilant in company with another Green, Wigrams & Green whaleship, the Harpooner, is in the collection of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. The Vigilant and Harpooner never sailed in company and the location depicted in the painting is fictitious. [DC]
Sources:
Chronicles of Blackwall Yard
Vigilant Journal: a British whaling ship voyage in Indonesian waters and the Pacific – Litt. B Thesis (1987) – Dale Chatwin
A Trade so Uncontrollably Uncertain: A study of the English Southern Whale Fishery from 1815 to 1860 - MA Thesis (1996) – Dale Chatwin
The ships' Vigilant' and 'Harpooner' offshore
Over the 85 years of the British Southern Whale Fishery some 930 vessels sailed as part of the British Southern Whale Fishery. For much of the life of the trade the main source of vessels were re-purposed merchantmen or Admiralty prizes (the histories of many the former Navy and Admiralty Prize vessels have been contributed to Wikipedia by colleague Adrian Tschoegel).
Only after 1825 did specialist built whaleships start entering the trade in any numbers with the main builder being the Blackwall Yard owned by the families of Wigram & Green. These specialist built whaleships were designed to sail to the whaling grounds and back as quickly as possible and did not have the characteristic bluff-bowed shape favoured by British Arctic whalers and the Americans. British vessels of this period also tended to favour a different colouring scheme to the whaleships of other nations, being characterised by brown futtocks and yellow-orange-cream gun ports rather than the black futtocks and white gun ports favoured by American, Colonial and French whalers. An earlier reference to British whaleships (circa 1796) described two whaleships as both painted upper half red – lower black – yellow line along the rail.
Many whaleships in the trade had long careers in the fishery with 164 vessels undertaking five voyages or more voyages but the trade was certainly a dangerous business with around 200 vessels lost.
Active, operating 1838-1842
Active was the last whaleship commissioned for the firm of Green, Wigrams & Green and the last to be built in their Blackwall Yard. One of the few surviving letters between the partners refers to the new ship being prepared for Captain Brookes and the desire of the Wigrams that it be 'Yard’ property, 'as the other whalers are'. This reference to the requirement for 'Yard' ownership may already indicate that the partners business interests were diverging for in the three years prior to Active's launch, each of the families had built and launched vessels outside of the 'Yard' partnership.
At 461 tons Active was close to 100 tons larger than other whaleships built at Blackwall Yard and continued the preference for ship rigged vessels. Only Narwhal, launched as a bark, went against this pattern but as Narwhal was originally commissioned for the whaleship owner William Mellish, this probably reflected Mellish’s preference. A painting of Active, exists, but its present location is unknown.
Active sailed in late May 1838 under the command of William Tolley Brookes with the Timor Fishery its stated destination. Specific nomination of the Timor Ground is unusual. First, such a specific nomination in stated destination in Lloyds List occurred rarely. More often, whaleship destinations were simply recorded 'south seas' or 'south seas fishery'. Second reason, is that Brookes had, at least on his previous three cruises, preferred the Horn route to that of the Cape of Good Hope. This raises the question of whether Brookes was sailing with the benefit of commercial 'intelligence' gathered by the firm's other whaleships. Later events around Timor indicate that this may have been the case.
The first whale was taken before arriving in the Timor Strait and the Active cruised in the waters around the Moluccas for the next 22 months, an unusually long time in one place but perhaps reflective of British whalemen’s growing understanding of sperm whales in Indonesian waters. Brookes' route over this period suggests that the British had come to understand that the Indonesian waters were a series of interconnected grounds where whaling could, with little repositioning of a vessel, be pursued for much of the year. This contrasts with the defined seasonal patterns of the Pacific grounds. The other important thing to note is the extraordinary concentration of English whaleships in Indonesian waters. Between late October 1838 and December 1839 Active 'spoke' 22 English whaleships in contrast to six American whaleships. Such a concentration of English whaleships was exceptional. Something like one-third of the English whaling fleet were in Indonesian waters at some time during this fourteen month period and many, like Active, were there for the whole duration. Also noteworthy is the presence of so many English ships in comparison with the Americans, who at this time outnumbered the English whale fleet in total by a factor of perhaps seven or eight to one.
After two years whaling on the East Indian grounds, Active sailed north-east past the Bonin Islands towards Hawaii. At Woahoo [Oahu] men deserted and the master had considerable difficulty controlling the intemperate habits of the crew. On leaving Hawaii Active spent the rest of the year on the Equator before heading south to Port Jackson. A report from Sydney recorded in Lloyds List in early May 1841 must have been reassuring for the partners – Active had on board 1,900 barrels in stark contrast to recent poor performances by Matilda, Vigilant, and Eleanor.
After leaving Sydney Active sailed north-east again and spent the rest of the year chasing, but not catching, whales 'on-the-line', with only 460 barrels being taken in nearly eleven months. In late November 1841, Active called at the Bay of Islands before sailing home for England, where it arrived on 5 May 1842. The Times records, that 'Active came into the River with one of the richest cargoes ever brought into this port - 3,850 barrels of oil - besides whalebone, etc.' Yet, Active's log records the ship carrying only 2,332 barrels and during the voyage Active had not taken a single baleen whale (i.e. no whalebone was taken). It is hard to guess at why such a discrepancy should exist. It can’t be explained simply in the difference between the Queen Anne and Imperial measurement systems. Even so, whatever the 'real' cargo was it was of good enough size to realise a profit but this was Active's first and only voyage for GW&G. It was also William Tolley-Brookes' last command for GW&G, as he retired from whaling. [DC]
HARPOONER, operating 1830–1848
The Harpooner (374 tons) was the first whaleship built and launched for the firm of Green, Wigrams & Green at their Blackwall Yard shipyard on the Thames in 1830. Over the next eight years the firm built and launched another four whaleships for their fleet.
The Harpooner made four whaling voyages for the firm. The first voyage between 1830 and 1833 under the command of John Clark was very successful. Clark again sailed in command in 1833 but died early in the voyage, the cruise being completed under the command of the first mate. The third voyage under Abijah Lock was from 1837 to 1841. The crew list records that on return to London that Lock was unable to sign his name ‘through a hurt’.
The last voyage was a long one, commencing in 1842 and not being completed until 1848. It appears as if the Master (William Debney) became aware sometime during the voyage that the firm had been dissolved in 1843 as the voyage shifted from a focus on whaling to finish as a merchant voyage. It appears that Harpooner on dissolution of the partnership was retained by Richard Green.
Whilst whaling near the Solomons in early 1845 the Harpooner was badly damaged by a hurricane, losing her mizzen-mast and main topmast, sprung her foremast and lost or damaged all of her boats. The vessel made for Sydney for repairs where Debney transhipped the cargo of oil to London, planning a further cruise to the whaling grounds. That cruise was marred by ill-luck with many of the crew deserting. Debney called at Hobart in late 1846 and supplemented the cargo of oil with freight before sailing for London via Adelaide in December 1846. For some reason Debney left the vessel in Adelaide and under a new commander on departure for London via Sydney it became apparent that the vessel was ‘leaky’ with the vessel struggling to leave Australian waters. Harpooner finally sailed for London in late 1847 arriving 11 February 1848 after a voyage of over 70 months.
Two paintings of Harpooner exist. A painting of the vessel leaving England in 1830 in the collection of the Science Museum, London (probably by Huggins) and a painting from 1831 in the collection of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich (by W. J. Huggins) in company with another Green, Wigrams & Green whaleship, the Vigilant. The Vigilant and Harpooner are known to have never sailed together in company and so the location depicted in the painting is likely fictitious. [DC]
Sources:
Chronicles of Blackwall Yard
A Trade so Uncontrollably Uncertain: A study of the English Southern Whale Fishery from 1815 to 1860 - MA Thesis (1996) – Dale Chatwin
Whaleship Harpooner ‘1830’ - painted by Huggins?
The ships' Vigilant' and 'Harpooner' offshore
MATILDA, operating 1829–1845
The Matilda, a former Navy sloop named HMS ESk and built in 1813, was the Green, Wigrams & Green’s partnerships first whaleship and was refitted extensively to at their Blackwall Yard shipyard before putting to sea in 1829 under the Commodore of the firm’s whaling fleet, Robert Pockley.
Over the next 17 years the vessel was commanded by some of the firm’s most successful whaling masters and the 1832 cruise under William Tolley Brookes was particularly successful. Another famous Master was William Swain who had previously commanded the Sarah & Elizabeth on which Thomas Beale of The Natural History of the Sperm Whale fame had returned home.
There is a log for the vessel’s second voyage in the collection of the NMM which indicates some issues in sailing but the vessel does appear to have served the firm very well through four voyages until it was put up for sale in 1845 following the dissolution of the partnership in 1843.
A painting of the vessel leaving England by James Miller Huggins, son of William John Huggins, and probably painted in 1829, is in the collection of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich.
[DC]
Sources:
Chronicles of Blackwall Yard
A Trade so Uncontrollably Uncertain: A study of the English Southern Whale Fishery from 1815 to 1860 - MA Thesis (1996) – Dale Chatwin
The Ship ‘Matilda’ and cutter ‘Zephyr’
NARWHAL, operating 1834-1852
The Narwhal (370 tons) was built and launched for the firm of Green, Wigrams & Green at their Blackwall Yard shipyard on the Thames in 1834. The vessel had originally been commissioned for the whaleship owner, William Mellish, but on his death in 1834 the vessel was taken over by the firm. The Blackwall Yard had previously built the Thames (370 tons) and Sir James Cockburn (340 tons) for William Mellish and it is clear that the Blackwall Yard built whaleships to a specific ‘type’ or 'specification'.
A Certificate of Registry, dated London 28 April 1835, no. 128. (NMM GRN/14) survives and describes Narwhal as has having two decks and three masts, one hundred and five feet five inches in length, twenty-eight feet ten inches wide at widest point, height between decks six feet six inches, square rigged with a standing bowsprit, square sterned and carvel built, with no galleries and with a woman bust figurehead. Despite being completed in November 1834 the Narwhal didn’t sail until December 1835, sailing under the command of William Darby Brind and surviving images clearly show the vessel bark rigged. The cruise was very successful and the vessel docked in London in December 1838. The vessel sailed again in May 1839 under Brind but he left the vessel in November 1840 leaving the vessel under the command of the first mate, Edward Baker. The vessel immediately returned to whaling before arriving in London until September 1841. The Narwhal left on its third cruise, again under Baker, in late December 1841 returning in September 1844 a ‘full ship'.
The Green and Wigram partnership had been dissolved by that time and most of the whaling fleet sold but Richard Green decided to keep the Narwhal and purchased her for £2900. Narwhal undertook two more voyages for Green. The first between 1845 and 1848 was reasonably successful but the last between 1849 and 1852 was very unsuccessful. Narwhal was dry docked on 31 January 1853 then moved to the West India Dock on 25 February pending sale. At least two images of Narwhal exist on scrimshaw - both depicting the vessel bark rigged. [DC]
Sources:
Chronicles of Blackwall Yard
A Trade so Uncontrollably Uncertain: A study of the English Southern Whale Fishery from 1815 to 1860 - MA Thesis (1996) – Dale Chatwin
PERSEVERANCE, operating 1801-1854
Built in 1801 at Rotherhithe for the firm of Peter and William Mellish specifically for the southern whale fishery the Perserverance was valued at £14 000 when new. The vessel, along with the Seringapatam (another Mellish vessel), was one of the longest serving vessels in the British Southern Whale Fishery undertaking 17 voyages (15 for Mellish). On Mellish’s death the vessel passed into the ownership of another London shipowner, Joseph Somes. [DC]
SAMUEL ENDERBY, operating 1834-1854
Built at West Cowes by Thomas White for the Enderby family and launched in 1834. The Registration Certificate records London 9 Oct 1834/300 : 422 57/94ths tons, standing bowsprit, square sterned, carvel built, quarter galleries, man figure head; 2 decks, 3 masts; L 107'9", B 29'10" above, D 6'4" between decks [PRO : BT 107/65].
The vessel undertook four cruises for the Enderby family before majority ownership was sold to William Lisle (a former master) and Elhanan Bicknell, spermaceti refiner. Bicknell was a patron of the painter William Turner. In 1849 Lisle and Bicknell sold the vessel to the Southern Whale Fishery Company which placed the vessel under the control of the Enderby family once again. Between 1849 and 1854 the vessel was employed in whaling from the Company’s Auckland Islands Whaling settlement and on the demise of the company was sold. [DC]
Sources:
Samuel Enderby hull model (1834)
Samuel Enderby (Print) 1834
VIGILANT, operating 1831-1842
The Vigilant (383 tons) was built and launched by the firm of Green, Wigrams & Green at their Blackwall Yard shipyard on the Thames in 1831.
The vessel sailed in October 1831 and demonstrated her fine sailing qualities on the voyage out with her Master (Samuel Swain) recording on 30 November 1831 that she passed another vessel ‘like a shot’. The Vigilant sailed via Timor, New Guinea and finally New Zealand before heading to Sydney ‘to put in Kentlage’ [i.e. ballast] as the vessel’s handling had deteriorated in heavy seas due to the weight of her cargo. In Sydney the Master transhipped the cargo for London and ventured out for a second whaling voyage finally returning to London in August 1835.
The Vigilant sailed on its second cruise under a new commander (Munro) in October 1835 again for Timor. In Kupang, the Master’s wife, who had accompanied him on the cruise, succumbed to illness and less than three months later the Master of the vessel was also dead. The first mate took command but the rest of the voyage did not go well and the vessel saw two more captains take command before arriving back in London in December 1838.
The Vigilant departed on her third and final voyage for the Green, Wigrams & Green partnership in March 1839 sailing for Timor and the Japans under Edward Grey. In February 1842 the Master died on board not long after having departed Kupang with the first mate sailing the vessel back to England to arrive in August 1842. When the Green, Wigrams & Green partnership was dissolved the Vigilant was sold and resumed her career as ‘black whaling’ off the east coast of South Africa.
A painting of the Vigilant in company with another Green, Wigrams & Green whaleship, the Harpooner, is in the collection of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. The Vigilant and Harpooner never sailed in company and the location depicted in the painting is fictitious. [DC]
Sources:
Chronicles of Blackwall Yard
Vigilant Journal: a British whaling ship voyage in Indonesian waters and the Pacific – Litt. B Thesis (1987) – Dale Chatwin
A Trade so Uncontrollably Uncertain: A study of the English Southern Whale Fishery from 1815 to 1860 - MA Thesis (1996) – Dale Chatwin
The ships' Vigilant' and 'Harpooner' offshore