Journal of a Whaler - written for 10th grade English class

Journal of a Whaler
First Day – The Journey Begins

To borrow a famous line in Moby Dick, call me Aldridge.

My name is Eric Aldridge. This is the record of the Aquad ship's whaling trip from the port of New Bedford to wherever the whales might take us. The morn' of leaving New Bedford was quiet. Just the night before, I remember the liveliness of the town. However, now that the time had come for many to leave their homes, the place was quiet and the only action within the town was the whalers going to church with their families, possibly for the last time.

Our journey was set to be off earlier this afternoon. The crew gathered for the final preparations of the ship. By one after the hour of noon, "all aboard" was called; and as the women and children stood at the dock, a voice rang out, calling, "cast off!" The expedition had begun.

The men sang a song I had never heard before, as they pulled on ropes to move the boat on course. I was told to join in; and, so, knowing little of the process, followed the leader.

I was new to this ship, new to sailing. In all my travels, nothing could have prepared me for the coming, two-year voyage. Today was only the first day. For the next 730 days, there would be no rest, no stillness. It would be life on a ship, and I had the worst of it.

The other men were leaving wives, children, and family behind. I, being only twenty-five years of age and having no living relatives, was quite fearless at the start and doubted that that will change throughout this voyage.

I knew little of the crew, only having joined the day before yesterday. One member took to showing me about this morning, once things were under way. I was introduced to the crew, who all seemed high-spirited and glad to meet me.

"You're the new meat, boy,” I was told by second mate Mr. Bowin, "The men will be havin' a time foolin' with ye."

"Foolin'?" I questioned.

"Yes'r, it won't be exactly easy for ye. They'll be a' pickin' on ye, 'specially if ye aint too great at the jobs you a' given," he told me.

Mr. Bowin showed me the way about, and, after having put me on display to all the crew, brought me to the front of the ship to start on my first job. There I met Mr. Perseus, named after the Greek myth and first whale man, the first mate. He ordered me to swab the deck.

"You'll see what whalin' is like soon enough, Mr. Aldridge. But your first job will be swabbin' and then you might try a-tidyin' the ropes." He handed me a bucket of water and a rag and, pointing to the Forward, motioned me to begin.

I got to working and learned the meaning of blisters. It took me the rest of the day to swab and clean and do all the things I was told. Of coarse, with these hardships, I grew tired and when it came time for dinner I was anxious to eat. One man pushed me to the side as I entered the place where food was served. There was a long line to get what the men call "slop." As I forced my way into line, I was told that new sailors had to wait for the rest to get their food. I found this harsh, but knowing my duties and not wanting to cause trouble, I obeyed and waited my turn. When I did get my food, I was rather reluctant to eat it. It looked like a mixed blend of all the things a man eats in one day after sitting out for a month or two. I ate it, and found it to taste good enough and satisfying to my stomach, which was growling greatly by this time.

After dinner, we were split into groups to take turns for nighttime watches. Luckily, it was not my turn.

I went below to the cabin, and found my bed to be a place of comfort after the day's activities. Earlier that day it had been suggested that we take down our journey in writing, in a journal. We were each given a booklet with which to do so and I took it to heart to write all my further journeys down in such a way. Thus, this journal is created and thus, as the lights go out and I sit here with my candle ready to sleep, the first day of this long journey has ended.

Eighth Day - Details of Life on Ship

It having been a full week now since the departure of this ship, I have found whaling to be nothing of the interesting sort. As of now, there have been no findings of whales and there is little wind to move us. We have found ourself lucky enough to have a cook who cares little for alcohol, for if he did, then we would all go drunken with madness and throw ourselves overboard. At least that is what I have been told by Mr. Harper, who seems a bit crazy, himself.

“Just you wait, Mr. Aldridge,” he said this morning. “Those whales can be tricky, but we’ll get our share of them soon enough.”

This early afternoon the captain called for a muster. The crew gathered on deck for their first update from the captain. We had only seen him once before on the first day of the voyage. After that we were so busy following our orders that we had little time to pay attention to details such as who was who in giving us orders. Captain Lodge was only on deck at certain times, which changed by the day, and in daylight he was only to be found at the bridge.

In this case, he had gathered us to encourage our spirits, announce a party for that night to keep us entertained, and of course, to assign us our jobs for the day. I was ordered to check the boats for any leaks or problems and to ready them for a chase. The captain, I assumed, meant to imply that we would soon find a whale to hunt down and thus cheer the crew up, this.

With no whales to skin, there are few jobs to do on the ship. The weather was clear and the decks were clean; there was no swabbing to do. The only jobs that I had not done yet were lookout and cook’s assistant. Even with the captain’s speech, we were all bored.

There was no lie in saying that the men would be “foolin’” with me. Every day was hard, but soon enough, by the end of the week, most of them took to their old ways and grew used to me.

With the end of this day came dinner in the mess. I had grown used to the way of things now. I suppose, however, that this is only the beginning; or so I am told.

Ninth Day - First Watch

Little happened on the ninth day of our voyage. A reward was offered for the first to sight a whale. The captain tried hard to keep the crew’s spirits high. His efforts prove to no success, and so, I thought I might speak with him and try to cheer him up; for it seemed that he needed it more that the crew.

It took more than one try to get to the captain. To get to him, I had to talk to Mr. Perseus and Mr. Bowin, who were both reluctant to allow me to see him.

“The captain is busy in his study,” said Mr. Bowin, “If this is not urgent you must go back to your duties.”

“But I have no duties,” I told him.

“So its duties you want then, lad?” asked Mr. Perseus, “I should have known. To tell the truth boy, you have exceeded my expectations. At first, ye were a bit soft, but as I said we would, I do believe we have made a sailor of ye. Now what is left is to make a whaler of ye’.” He paused for a moment as if to think and then said, “Mr. Bowin, let us give the lad somethin’ to do.” He winked and turned around to carry on with his duties.

“Right then,” said Mr. Bowin, “you’ll be needin’ a job to do.” He went away for a moment to talk to Mr. Kipper, who was in charge of the watches, and then came back to me. “You’ll be climbing the mast, ye will. It be your turn to watch.”

“But, Rowbel has that duty today,” I questioned.

As if by fate, right after I said this, Mr. Kipper yelled out, “Rowbel, get down from that watch, I’m givin’ ye a break!”

Rowbel did not question the order. As soon as he was down, I found myself being pushed towards the mast where there was a rope ladder leading up to the watch at the top of the mast.

“Just think of the reward,” Mr. Bowin whispered into my ear as he helped me climb the first step.

“But I wanted to speak with the captain!” I told him; but he just kept ordering me to continue climbing.

It was a beautiful sight that awaited me at the top: ocean for miles and miles with the sun setting in the East. It was late when I came down, well after dinner. I did not eat anything, but it was worth it. Nothing was found that day, but I was happy, and thus gave up on my mission to speak with the captain.

Day 41 – The First Chase

It having been a little over a month since we first left, the men have all grown anxious for excitement. On the forty-first day of our long trip, this desire was fulfilled.

Today a man by the name of Roger was on watch. To his delight, he caught view of our first whale.

“Thar she blows!” he yelled out.

Captain Lodge came about and called for the boats to be readied.

“Into the boats,” Mr. Perseus called, “Even you, Aldridge.”

The men, and myself, all gathered in the boats and we were lowered down.

“Row!” cried Mr. Bowin, who was in charge of and steering the boat I was on.

We drew near to the whale and Mr. Bowin took out a harpoon, and, standing straight and balancing himself, threw it into the whale. We held tight as the boat was dragged through the water and wind by the whale. I noticed that only one of the four other boats was with us. The rest were after other whales. It was only a short while before the creature slowed down and we were able to throw several more harpoons into it.

As we began the long process of taking the whale apart, I thought, “the poor thing. Being slaughtered to bits by the like of us.”

I must have shown my thoughts by looks for, sure enough, Mr. Bowin said, “Haven’t the heart for whaling after all, aye, Aldridge?”

“Yes, sir. But it is a way of livin’ and I take it as it come,.” I replied.

“Ye do that,” he told me, “It is not just for us. We get oil from ‘em, provides a livin’ for people who buy ‘em from us too.”

I thought for a moment. He was right; it was a way of living for many. I turned to him and said, “Ye be a strange man, but I like ye. It was but exhilarating. I look forward to our next chase.”

“That’s the spirit,” he said.

So began my life as a whaler, and my reputation for being one.

Day 45 – The Storm

A few days after our first whale chase, we were tired and ready to celebrate a job well done. I woke up to the now familiar smells of blood, meat, and oil. It was the smell of victory to much of the crew. Most of the men had been up every night. The processing was almost done and we had plenty of oil to satisfy the customer.

However, as the day came to a close, strange clouds drifted over us, and a storm took form. We had not yet faced the worst of the sea’s torments.

All through the night, the storm raged on. The ship swayed back and forth. I found myself seasick for the first time on our voyage. If it had been at a more peaceful time, the crew would have taken notice and begun “foolin’” with me again, but we were all busy keeping the ship in shape and preparing for the worst.

I was ordered to go below and help with enforcing the coaming. A leak had formed there; if we did not enforce and set up new coamings, the ship would have sank.

In the end, Captain Lodge ordered wastes thrown overboard, including what was left of the whale. Much food was ridden of, ruined by the rainwater that leaked into storage

The lightning fired and the rain caused much of the sea to b e in uproar. Seawater came tumbling over the. side of the ship. We were ordered to go below or lash ourselves to railings to keep from falling overboard. The entire night I lay awake on my bed, hoping the storm would go away.

Day 46 – Homeward Bound

Weather proved restless, but we won the battle in the end. By midnight, the storm had ended and we were all able to sleep peacefully. I did learn one thing: I am not as fearless as I thought. From now on, I will take better care not to be so proud.

In the morning, we found the ship to be in bad shape. Much of the masts were fallen or gone. The sails were ruined. Everything was a mess. Worst of all, we had little food left over and much of the whales and oil had been lost.

“We could head for an island or port, captain,” Mr. Perseus suggested.

“We could continue and hopefully find food and other whales,” said Rowbin.

“Couldn’t we go home, captain? I have no trouble staying’,” one man asked, “Most of us have family waitin’ for us. We could do what we can for the ship, head home, finish restorations there, and then head out again.”

“Those are all good suggestions,“ Captain Lodge said, “Perhaps I will go to my quarters and think about this for a short while.”

All the crew watched as he considered what to do first, before going to rest in his cabin. We had been allowed near the captain just this once.

“Sir, should we not do what we can first,” I asked, “before we do anything else?”

“Yes, Mr. Aldridge. Quite right,” he replied, “Mr. Perseus, have the men do what they can. We turn for home on the ‘morrow.”

With this great news, the crew did all their work as fast as they could, and with happiness on their faces. We were going home.

Day 133 – Arriving Home

There being no such “home” for me as there was for all the others, I had not much to look forward to. However, I kept my head high, knowing we would all be safe and imagining what the crew’s families would do when they found out that their husbands, fathers, and sons had returned.

Today, day one hundred and thirty three, we returned home to New Bedford. In the morning, we could see it off in the distance. Excited, we all worked hard.

It was my final day on the Aquad, my last day on the sea. Soon I would be back on land, away from the true home I had learned to love. A ship is a man’s best friend. When you live on one for such a long time, you learn to be humble, “fool” about, and at the same time be responsible. I did not want to leave.

We drew nearer and nearer to port. I looked back at the sea and said my final goodbye. It was time to go.

Working hard, for the final time on this voyage, we all brought the ship into port. The captain called one last meeting where he told us that we were great and he looked forward to our next meeting.

We left the ship; most of the men ran. It was a good thing to see so many happy wives and children, wives and children that I did not have.

When I reached the firm ground, I thought about what to do next. I planned to stay the night at a tavern and journey tomorrow to find a new job; but this new job came more easily than I thought it would.

As I walked along the port, towards the tavern, I saw a young woman, about my age, come out of a house. She looked at me for a moment and then continued to a ship that was docked nearby. I followed her, only to find that the ship she had boarded needed one extra hand for her voyage; and, so, I was enlisted and allowed to board, ready for a new adventure.