In 1871, a fleet of 32 whaling ships from New England, California, and Hawaii became trapped in Arctic ice near Alaska.
After several weeks of watching the ice draw nearer and close in on their ships, the captains were forced to make a survival decision.
On September 14, 1871, they drew up a document of abandonment, which was signed by all the captains.
We, the undersigned, masters of whaleships now lying at Point Belcher, after holding a meeting concerning our dreadful situation, have all come to the conclusion that our ships cannot be got out this year, and there being no harbor that we can get our vessels into, and not having provisions enough to feed our crews to exceed three months, and being in a barren country, where there is neither food nor fuel to be obtained, we feel ourselves under the painful necessity of abandoning our vessels, and trying to work our way south with our boats, and, if possible, get on board of ships that south of the ice.
These brave men chose to abandon their 32 ships and travel more than 90 miles, in much smaller whale boats, to find safety aboard seven other whaling ships out at sea.
The history of whaling ships is plentiful, but few have an ending as miraculous as this one.
The captains’ wise decision saved the lives of all 1,219 men, women, and children in their fleet.
Read on to learn from their story.
The True Story of the 1871 Whaling Disaster
Whaling was a major industry in the 1800s.
Whaling ships were designed as “19th century factories […] laden with everything needed to not only find an 80-ton whale but to ‘bring them alongside, cut them up, and boil them down.’”
In addition, these large ships also carried families.
Brad Barr, a NOAA archaeologist, explains:
It wasn’t uncommon in whaling at that period for captains to take their wives and children, because if they didn’t take them, they wouldn’t see them for years. […] And many of the children grew up whaling and became captains themselves, following the family.
In 1871, 32 whaling ships carrying a total of 1,219 men, women, and children headed to the Arctic Ocean near Alaska to hunt for bowhead whales.
The plan was to arrive in late spring, hunt whales for a few months, then sail back out once there was a break in the ice in September.
This plan usually worked. But in 1871, the ice didn’t clear and, instead, began closing in on and crushing the ships.
According to historical records, “The local Inuit warned some captains that the ice was behaving differently this year, and they should get out while they could. That warning went unheeded.”
As the days went by, the situation became more dire.
By August 31, 1871, Timothy Packard of the Henry Taber had begun to fear the worst, writing, “Oh, how many of this ship’s company will live to see the last days of next August? God only knows. I will trust to His wise hand.”
By September 9, the captains had to start thinking about long-term survival. They understood their ships would not make it out, and they did not have enough provisions to live in the harsh winter on shore.
They decided to send a scouting party out on a small whaleboat to look for help or other options.
They found seven whale ships that agreed to wait to save those shipwrecked and iced in.
[Related Read: The Siege of Leningrad: 872 Days of Survival Lessons]
The Miraculous Survival of 1,200 People
Once they had an evacuation plan, they started making their way from their 32 ice-trapped ships to the seven ships in the open sea.
The 1,219 people traveled approximately 90 miles on small whaleboats, and on foot in areas where the ice made it impossible to navigate the small whaleboats to the makeshift rescue boats.
In order to save everyone, the rescue boats made tremendous sacrifices.
According to CT Insider, “To accommodate the shipwrecked whalers, the waiting whaleships had to empty their holds, giving up the precious cargo they had spent months or, in some cases, years accruing. Even still, the survivors were packed in.”
In the end, all 1,219 people survived.
Survival Lessons We Can Learn from This Event
The whaling disaster of 1871 is one of the good stories packed with survival lessons.
Consider some of the mistakes they made, as well as their wise choices when it came to preparing for the unimaginable:
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Plan for Emergencies: First things first. Plan for emergencies, even those that seem unlikely. The whalers in 1871 expected the ice to break, like it always had, so they could leave. But this didn’t happen. Mother Nature doesn’t always play by the rules—just like a hurricane destroying mountain towns hundreds of miles from the coast.
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Take Heed of Weather and Advice: The big mistake this whaling fleet made was not taking heed of the weather advice provided by the locals. Pay attention to the weather. Find news sources you trust. Listen and take advice when it comes to potential natural disasters.
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Pack What You Need, Not What You Want: When disaster strikes, you need to grab the essentials for survival—not a bunch of things you want. In order to save others, those on the rescue boats had to make room by getting rid of much of what was on their ships. Rather than find yourself tossing items overboard, only pack what you absolutely need. Travel “survival light.”
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Prepare for the Long Term: One of the issues the fleet faced was not having substantial shelter or provisions for the winter weather ashore. The captains knew they would not survive if they tried to remain on land through the winter because they did not have adequate shelter—their boats were going to be crushed—and they had minimal provisions. Always make sure you have long-term emergency provisions.
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Identify Evacuation Routes: The captains made a smart decision by sending out a scouting pack to identify potential evacuation routes. It ended up saving their lives. We should also be aware of potential evacuation routes, wherever we go.
- Practice Community: While self-reliance is important, there are times when it is beneficial to be part of a community, as clearly seen in this history lesson.
Learn from history, friends.
In liberty,
Elizabeth Anderson
Preparedness Advisor, My Patriot Supply
