Whaling? In a small town on the north shore of Long Island, New York? Yes and yes! Whalers departed from Cold Spring Harbor to begin whale hunting trips on the open sea that could sometimes take up to four to five years. These whaling brigs were factory ships that processed, at sea, huge whale carcasses, extracting whale oil used to light homes and lubricate machines. When a whale was sighted, a 30 foot whaleboat with a six man crew was lowered into the water and the hunt was on in earnest. The crew's job was to harpoon the whale, kill it and tow it back to the whaler.
The Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum has, as the centerpiece of its collection, one of 10 remaining whaleboats left in the United States. This nineteenth century whaleboat belonged to one of America's last whaling brigs, the Daisy. The Daisy Whaleboat, made of white oak and cedar is fully equipped with all its original tools used on the hunt from harpoons and lances to ropes and much more. The whaleboat was last used in 1912 and is in great shape. Surrounding the whaleboat are photos of the crew at work taken by Robert Murphy, a scientist who sailed aboard the Daisy during its 1912-1913 trip. Murphy was also a catalyst in founding the museum. He donated the Daisy whaleboat to the town of Cold Spring Harbor with the proviso that they build a whaling museum around it.
A film shown at the museum documents the whale hunt from start to finish with vintage footage. The museum also has on display a huge try pot used to melt blubber into oil as well as many examples of sailors' scrimshaw and other items pertinent to whaling.
You know, this reminds me of the spectacular Vasa Museum in Stockholm - The Vasa is a big ship and the museum is big as a result, but the concept is (I imagine) just as compelling as this small boat and the small "jewel box museum" built around it. Nothing brings maritime history home like seeing the actual ship and the actual artifacts that accompanied it when it was in action. Awesome!
ReplyDelete