07 January 2016

Wreckage of Lost Whaling Ships Discovered Off Alaska's Arctic Coast

When pack ice shifted to trap 33 commercial whaling ships off Alaska’s Arctic coast in the fall of 1871, more than 1,200 people aboard the vessels had to be rescued. The costly and much-publicized debacle was, according to many historians, the beginning of the end for the Alaska commercial whaling industry.

A century and a half later, archaeologists studying the floor of the Chukchi Sea near the Inupiat village of Wainwright have found the wreckage of what appears to be two of the lost ships, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Wednesday.



Follow the first link, above, to read the rest of the story and see the pictures.

10 comments:

Toirdhealbheach Beucail said...

That is awesomely cool. Thanks for sharing.

Rev. Paul said...

You're welcome, friend; glad you liked it. :)

Murphy's Law said...

Wow. Too cool indeed.

Old NFO said...

Nice! And an interesting find!

Rev. Paul said...

I'm glad you guys liked it; I thought it pretty cool, too.

Flying Tigers Flight Civil Air Patrol said...

Just read the story on Fox. If you can't get people to work fast food and the ones who do want $15. hr think about working on a whaler. Back in the day folks made a living with hard work, today so many make whining a full time job.

Chickenmom said...

Great article!. I like those old stories of the whaling days.

Rev. Paul said...

Rob, that's a fact. My first job was part-time stocking shelves in a locally-owned discount store, and then working as a janitor after the doors closed. On Saturday mornings, I swept the parking lot. Minimum wage was $1.65/hour, and I was happy to get it.

You're welcome, Chickenmom. :)

Anonymous said...

Interesting video. Is there any firms that provides this kind of service ? For our standard arctic cruise we used http://poseidonexpeditions.com and it was good, but i don't think that they can help us with discovering the lost ships. Maybe you will recommend me something ?

Rev. Paul said...

Ms. Smith,

A quick search listed two Alaska-based marine salvage & exploration companies: Global Diving & Salvage, Inc. and Alaska Marine Transport & Salvage Inc. Perhaps you'll have better luck with a more specific search.