Whaling Voyages: from the Port of Hudson
There is an air of romanticism to “The Golden Age of Whaling” that still exists today. Advertisements in 19th century newspapers and stories passed by word of mouth of adventures battling whales and the possibility of great wealth lured many young men to the whaling ports of New England (and Hudson). Many came from small towns in the northeast and joined seasoned mariners on board whaleships.
The reality of whaling was anything but romantic. It entailed long months at sea with little to occupy the crew while they waited for a whale sighting. This was followed by the hunt in an open whale boat rowing to a whale weighing 45 tons and throwing a harpoon attached to a rope into its body. The whale would then swim away pulling the boat along with it. This was called a Nantucket Sleigh Ride and the men held on for dear life. Other times the whale would flap its fluke and stove the boat scattering everything in it including the crew. If they were able to kill the whale without themselves being killed, they would head back to the whaleship where the carcass was hauled up the side of the ship and the hard work of “harvesting” the blubber and boiling it down began. This was done fast and furious as sharks inevitably began to feed on the carcass. The work was exhausting, dirty, smelly and took days.
If the whaleship was successful everyone shared in the profits with a percentage based on rank and experience and men’s fortunes could be made. However, an unsuccessful voyage could mean returning in debt, after depleting the ship’s rum supply, or not returning at all. Most men tried one voyage but preferred to never go on board a whaleship again.
Whaling ports like Nantucket, New Bedford and Hudson remain curiosities for history lovers searching to understand the glory of the past. To imagine the howl of the wind through the sails of a ship as it rounded Cape Horn, the adrenaline pumping as whaleboats were lowered is to imagine a space and time when men, nature and chance came together in excitement and fear.
In this section of the exhibit we follow the voyages of five whaleships that sailed out of Hudson showing a variety of experiences for the crewmen on board based on their correspondences of crewmen, crew lists, custom documents and logbooks.
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Additional Resources (links to PDF):
Individual Voyage Data Cards
Research compiled by Richard Bazelow, from whalinghistory.org and other sources, 2018-2025
Hudson Valley & Capital Region Mariners in Alphabetical Order
Research compiled by Richard Bazelow, from whalinghistory.org and other sources, 2018-2025
Whaleboat Newbedford 1865
Model of Whaling Vessel
On loan from the collection of Richard Bazelow