Cheryl Blackerby

Nantucket Whaling History Told in Epic Movie

By Cheryl Blackerby

The Palm Beach Daily News (March 27, 2015)

NANTUCKET, Mass. — The 46-foot-long skeleton of a sperm whale hung from the ceiling over a whaleboat half its size in the Nantucket Whaling Museum. The message was clear: Look how much damage a whale could do to a boat.

I had just read the book “In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex,” by Nathaniel Philbrick. This true story tells a terrifying account of the sinking of the Nantucket ship Essex — ripped apart by an enraged whale in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in 1820. Never before had anyone known of a whale to attack a ship.

The tragedy inspired Herman Melville to write the novel “Moby-Dick.”

And Philbrick’s book prompted director Ron Howard to make an epic movie, by the same title, that Warner Bros. will open in December.

Both Philbrick, who lives in Nantucket, and Howard researched the Essex at the museum. Howard and his stars including Chris Hemsworth explored the town that made its fortunes on whale oil, which lighted the street lamps in big cities worldwide.

Of the 20 men on the Essex who attempted to reach land in three open boats, only eight men survived starvation, despair and cannibalism. Horrifying choices had to be made. Two survivors were found on their whaleboat at sea, sucking the marrow from the bones of their shipmates.

The whale that attacked the Essex was roughly twice the size of the one in the museum, about the same length as the 87-foot-long Essex. It was hard to imagine.

Survivors of the Essex recalled that the whale had acted strangely, floating on the surface and watching the ship from just 35 yards away. Suddenly, it pumped its 20-foot-wide tail and rammed the ship, and then attacked it again at a greater speed, crashing into the vessel.

The whale survived, the ship didn’t. And that’s just the beginning of one of the most harrowing tragedies in American maritime history.

The story of the Essex comes from the journals and testimonies of survivors. The Whaling Museum has artifacts from the ship including a small metal chest and a piece of twine made during three months at sea in a whaleboat, as well as the ship’s logs and journals, maps and account books.

The book serves as a riveting history of Nantucket and is also an accidental travel guide. Readers learn, for instance, that the streets where residents lived in Nantucket in the 1800s depended on their position in the whaling trade.

Ship owners and merchants were likely to live on Pleasant Street, away from the stench of the wharves. Captains tended to live on Orange Street, which offered the best view of the harbor. Mates, on the other hand, lived on Union Street at the foot of the hill and nearest the harbor.

Unfortunately, the Nantucket scenes in the movie weren’t filmed in Nantucket but in London and Hertfordshire, England. It’s a shame since the survivors’ actual houses, facing cobblestone streets, are still here along with many other 19th-century houses.

A good place to experience history on Nantucket is in one of the historic hotels. The stately Coffin House, an intimate inn in the heart of town, was built by Jared Coffin, one of the most successful ship owners of the 1800s. The three-story, red-brick house was constructed in 1845 and survived the great fire that destroyed more than 200 buildings in 1846.

The low-key luxury of the White Elephant hotel has been the place to stay in town since the 1920s. The harborside collection of hotel and adjacent rustic cottages was the creation of Nantucket socialite Elizabeth Ludwig. Locals called it Mrs. Ludwig’s white elephant. She was amused and kept the name.

Ron Howard, Hemsworth and several other cast members stayed at the White Elephant when they were researching life on the island. I stayed here, too, in a one-bedroom suite that had a working fireplace and terrace facing the harbor. Mornings started with breakfast in the Brant Point Grill overlooking the harbor, where the whaling ships once docked. Dinner at the “BPG” draws a packed house for clam chowder, New York Strip steaks and grilled lobster.

Visitors wanting to experience the tranquility of rural Nantucket would probably like the Wauwinet, which opened in 1875. The gracious, three-story Relais & Chateaux hotel attracts loyal guests who return year after year to watch the sunsets, relax in the spa and eat local oysters at the inn’s acclaimed Topper’s restaurant.

And surely the best way to imagine life on the waterfront, the lifeblood of the island, is to stay in one of the dockside cottages at the Boat Basin. Guests who come to the island by boat can dock in front of their cottages, which are hugely popular in summer.

After a stay in a historic inn, visitors should take a walking tour. In May, the Nantucket Historical Association will offer the new “In the Heart of the Sea” tour, which includes stops at some of the Essex crew members’ houses.

The tour guide will point out the house where one of the survivors lived for many years. Until the day he died, he hoarded food in the attic.

Details

Walking Tours: The new “In the Heart of the Sea” Tour will start in May, departing from the Whaling Museum, 13 Broad St. Visit nha.org.

White Elephant: The hotel has a range of accommodations from the 67 guest rooms and one-bedroom suites to one-, two-, and three-bedroom garden cottages; and modern downtown lofts. Summer rates for two range from $850 to $4,295 per night depending on dates. Call (800) 445-6574 or visit WhiteElephantHotel.com.

The Jared Coffin House: Summer room rates start at $295. Call (800) 248-2405 or visit JaredCoffinHouse.com.

The Wauwinet: Summer room rates start at $395. Call (800) 426-8718 or visit wauwinet.com.

Waterfront Cottages: Summer rates for the waterfront cottages at the Boat Basin start at $495 but plummet to $235 in September and $175 in October. Call 866-838-9253 or visit TheCottagesNantucket.com.