| Owen Chase | |
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| Born | December 1798 United States |
| Died | March 8, 1869 (aged 70) |
| Occupation | Whaling Captain |
| Genres | Non fiction |
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Influenced
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Owen Chase (1798-March 8, 1869 (aged 70)) was First Mate of the whale ship Essex, that was struck and sunk by a sperm whale on November 20, 1820. Chase wrote about the incident in Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex. This book, published in 1821, would inspire Herman Melville to write Moby-Dick.
Owen Chase made his living by killing whales both before and after this encounter with the 85 foot Sperm Whale. In the Essex disaster, Chase survived 90 days at sea in a small 7-man whaling boat, after a whale twice deliberately rammed a large whaling vessel.
Chase and his fellow sailors were in the middle of a two year whale hunt, which had already killed 10 whales for their oil. They were in the midst of another successful day with harpoons in two more whales when disaster struck. Still, it could have ended with another sailors’ tale of heroism if the sailors had headed for nearby islands instead of struggling for three months in search of the mainland.
Of the 21 who began the journey, eight survived; three by remaining on a barely habitable island, and awaiting rescue, and five by sailing in two small boats to land and resorting to cannibalism to remain alive. A third boat was later recovered with four skeletons, and no survivors. Of the five survivors in the boats, two were the commanders, Chase, the First Mate and the ship's Captain George Pollard, Jr.
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