Log Entries:  June 27 - July 3, 1844

Thu, Jun 27, 1844 (Sun Obscure)

First part of the day stiff breezes… Finished boiling our whale… Saw 10 or 12 right whales from our deck – too rugged and thick to lower [boats].

Fri, Jun 28, 1844 (Lat 51.54 Lon 164.06 E)

This day clear… At daylight made sail.  Saw right whales; lowered the boats and chased twice without success… Latter part calm.  Saw a-plenty of humpbacks.  Stowed down 75 bbls oil.  Saw from 6 to 8 right whales through the day…

Sat, Jun 29, 1844 (Lat 51.40 Lon 164.18 E)

All this day dead calms…weather clear.  Saw two dead whales and a number of humpbacks.  The Captain and the steward Hiram Franklin had some difficulty and the Steward left the cabin and went forward to live… Cleaned a head of bone and stowed it away.

The steward was the Captain’s personal servant.  He kept the Captain’s quarters clean, served him his meals, and was also in charge of keeping track of the food on board.  There was a man of this name born in Southampton in about 1810; his children were all born in Sag Harbor (starting in 1841) so he is a good candidate for being the individual named here.

Sun Jun 30, 1844 (Lat 51.24 Lon 164.22 E)

This day had light airs from N… At 10 a.m. spoke ship Harmony of [Havre?] – 1 whale.  Saw another ship cutting [in]. After part of the day very thick…

Mon, Jul 1, 1844 (Sun Invisible)

All this day had very thick fog… At 3 p.m. saw one right whale come up close to the ship; heard other whales blowing – too thick to lower.



Tue, Jul 2, 1844 (Sun Invisible)

All this day thick fog… At night took in sail… Saw nothing.

Wed, Jul 3, 1844 (Sun Obscure)

All this day very thick fog… Our ship lying too all day.  Saw two humpbacks close to the ship.  We have got very near discouraged about making a voyage; there is so much thick and foggy weather to contend with that our prospects appear dark.

Finally, the never ending stream of discouraging events is given voice by George Smith.  It has indeed been a rough patch of bad luck – and one that can only be cured by catching a lot of whales. 

By the way, although the words are often used interchangeably by “landlubbers,” for a whaleman in the 1800s, there was a distinction between “voyage,” “cruise” and “passage.” A voyage was the entire journey, from leaving home to arriving again.  It was made up of a series of passages, which was a journey from point to point (i.e. “our passage from Sag Harbor to Fayal was uneventful”), and “cruises”, which was what a whaling ship did when it reached a specific whaling ground (where whales were likely to be found).  

So when Smith talks of discouragement about “making a voyage,” he is speaking not of just their current hard luck, but their dimming hopes of catching enough whales to make the overall voyage a profitable one.  While most ships did make a profit (after all, there wouldn’t be a whaling industry unless they did), there were always a number of ships a year that, for whatever reason, just didn’t make the grade.

So far, it looks like The Thames is going to be one of those unlucky ships… Unless…