When Whales Attack

By now you have probably heard the startling reports that, beginning in 2020, orcas- also commonly called killer whales- off the straits of Gibraltar, started attacking sailboats. While Orcas have not historically generally represented danger to people or boats, this new behavior isn’t the first time that people at sea have been terrorized by massive creatures of the deep. In fact, the recorded. history of whales attacking boats goes back a very long time.
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Script by JCG
#history #thehistoryguy #Whales

[@RISTRAW]

It is ironic that the surviving crew of the whaling ship Essex chose not to navigate to the nearby Marquesas Islands because they feared the alleged cannibals that lived there. Instead they struck out for the far away coast of South America and ended up eating each other. Owen Coffin was a distant relative of mine and was one of those who ended up being eaten.

[@procrastinator41]

What a name and fate. They just don’t make’em like that anymore.

[@user-io9ie5cs8j]

How sadly ironic

[@samhianblackmoon]

Precisely

[@VSE4me1]

I was in a 99 Restaurant, which has kitschy Americana as decor, when I noticed a recruiting poster for the whale ship Essex. Put me off my dinner, I tell ya!

[@northdakotaham1752]

Whenever a vegan would be beneficial, there is never one available.

[@OGKenG]

I just heard that NOAA implemented a regulation that boats (from 35-65 feet) traveling off the east coast of the US are limited to 10 knot speeds to prevent whale strikes.

[@rogergoodman8665]

I can't remember the title of the poem but my dad used to recite it during very bad storms. All I remember is the first line is "There be monsters here"

[@stuartriefe1740]

If anyone is interested, there is a great book by Eric Jay Dolin (whom I met at a book lecture he gave in our town) about the history of the US Whaling industry. It’s called “Leviathan,” and he writes plainly and understandable with lots of pictures and drawings. All his books are like that, he has a great one about the American fur trade, and for you Pirate buffs, one about notorious pirates and one about Privateering during the American revolution! Plus several other cool topics. Check him out!

[@carywest9256]

This book recently released? And is he in wikipedia land?

[@jliller]

@@carywest9256 No, "Leviathan" came out back in 2007. Dolan has also written excellent books on the fur trade, lighthouses, and hurricanes.

[@alabamaoffshorefishing]

I decided to take a risk on the book you recommended so I headed over to audible, and surprise, it’s a free download! I’m gonna start it in just a few minutes…..thanks for the tip! (Also, his book “Fur, Fortune, and Empire” is a free download on audible as well.)

[@ClarkyMalarky]

Thx Eric .. lol jk

[@stuartriefe1740]

@@alabamaoffshorefishing Read them both, and they are excellent. Of course I spent money on them as he spoke at our library for both. But it was cool that he signed them!

[@mountainjeff]

My step-father was in the Royal and Canadian Navies from 1942. He was into deep remote submersibles (among many other things). He told me in the '80's that we had better maps of the surface of the moon than we do of the bottom of the sea.

[@richf5967]

@@DoratheMysterySnail-dw8ii It’s easy to get to the bottom of the ocean. Getting back up is the hardest part 😂

[@20chocsaday]

The surface of the Earth is bigger than that of the moon. What is more, part of it is hidden.

[@PortCharmers]

@@richf5967 That's a Hector Barbossa quote (almost). However, getting there in a state that allows you to do some exploring is still a lot harder.

[@johncollins211]

Im convinced they have much of the ocean floor mapped out. Atleast the bigger features i know the sand moves on the ocean floor.

[@justinpennington7682]

We haven't been to the moon. You must be vaccinated

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

One of your best videos thus far. And no mention of a single pirate? You're slipping ❤

[@sathancat]

Ask A Mortician's 'The Real Moby Dick" is a great video that tells the story of those cannibalistic survivors

[@xvsj5833]

Awesome story ❤ Thxs Sir

[@stevedietrich8936]

While in Kenai Fjords Nat'l. Park (Seward, Alaska) we had several humpback whales submerge and go under the tour boat that we were on, and then resurface on the other side. Surprisingly, that wasn't the coolest thing on the tour, which was the sound and sight of tidewater glaciers calving off immense chunks of ice.

[@goodun2974]

PS, some brands of automatic transmission fluid used whale oil as part of the blended formula right up into the early 1970's when it was banned in the US and most European countries.

[@procrastinator41]

W-O-W! Did not know that

[@lucashinch]

Thank you Lance ! Your excellent history lesson has started my day well.

[@Darkflowerchyld718]

I've been a cetacean lover since I'm 5 years old. Orca are my heart animal, my absolute favorite among Earth's diverse creations. This video was awesome. I've heard the stories before but hearing you tell them is just as good as hearing them for the first time. Thanks for the wonderful content 💙

[@AcaliahWolfsong]

Go team Orca! 🐋

[@FishKepr]

These are the ones we know about. Makes me wonder how many ships disappeared from these attacks with no survivors.

[@mdh6977]

Very true... "fisherman's tails" might balances that out a bit tho...

[@cowboykelly6590]

😱 😏👍

[@50086gt]

I’m pretty sure there’s records of ships that disappeared…

[@tomjahnes364]

THG always provides helpful context for us to understand the world around us today. Thanks!

[@PopsP51]

I saw the original Moby Dick movie with Gregory Peck when I was a youngster decades ago. Thank goodness I watched it with my parents or I would have been scared to death. Since then, Sperm whales have been my favorite whale for some reason! Thanks🐳 for the history lesson. I had no idea how common run ins with whales were over the years let alone how many ships and lives were lost.🐳

[@procrastinator41]

When I was maybe six, I saw the part where Ahab (Gregory Peck) really goes to the dark side and takes a bunch of the crew along: ~”Who will give blood! that these irons be properly tempered !!…. “ I didn’t know people (or movies) could become so wild and frightening !

[@jakespoon5549]

Book was far better.

[@procrastinator41]

@@jakespoon5549 agree, but movie is worth watching, if just to see a little 1956 Hollywood and US time capsule.

[@orbyfan]

Orson Welles (or should that be Orson Whales?) had a minor role in that movie, but oddly, he didn't play the title character.

[@attemptedunkindness3632]

Sperm Whales are an evolutionary masterpiece. An apex predator, intelligent, capable of remembering and holding grudges. One of the deepest diving things on Earth, they can speak so loud that it can kill or paralyze humans much less their intended prey. That same voice allows them to communicate from nearly the other side of the globe with one another. Think about all the technology we humans have had to invent over the millennia just to imitate their power and capabilities.

[@RetiredSailor60]

I'm a member of King Neptune's Realm since 1993 having been initiated by Davy Jones as a Trusty Shellback. The ceremony took place off the coast of Chile.

[@macmedic892]

BZ!

[@-jeff-]

Sad to say as retired USAF all my crossings were done at a great height. My father was the shellback of the family.

[@stevedietrich8936]

Fellow Shellback

[@RetiredSailor60]

@@stevedietrich8936 Greetings fellow Shellback. What ship were you initiated on? Mine was USS Whidbey Island LSD 41

[@RetiredSailor60]

@@-jeff- Thanks for your service

[@billdurham8477]

2 fun facts. 1. Most of the ships that got sunk were tired wooden hulls were good for 20 years, the Essex was due for breaking, but the owners tried for one last trip. It was common for whales to ram a ship, did nothing fixing the caulking didn't cure. 2. Nathaniel Philbrick's theory of why so many islands have no wildlife ( or Dodo's) other than sea birds is the animals were eaten out of existence by shipwrecked sailors. And/or Kiera Knightley burned the coconut trees down.......

[@HighlanderNorth1]

It's just a shame the whales didn't manage to sink every whaling ship. On a separate note, "Mocha Dick" sounds like a name an African American adult film star might opt for.

[@brettbriggs9940]

​@@HighlanderNorth1😂😂 i think that Adam dudes wife was in that.... idgaf about none of that but for some reason KZbin shorts thinks I'm on a need to know basis

[@JamesThomas-gg6il]

The Essex story is truly a sad and horrendous tale of the power and nature of the seas.

[@jessebauer7372]

There is a good movie about this account called In the Heart of the Sea.

[@goodun2974]

​@@jessebauer7372, the movie is based on the historical account of the Essex and her crew, written by Nathaniel Philbrick.

[@ambulocetusnatans]

@@jessebauer7372 I haven't watched the movie, but thet book was really a page turner.

[@KingFavpenguin]

it’s always a good morning when a new THG video drops

[@IMBrute-ir7gz]

Joshua Slocum, the first man to sail alone around the world, disappeared without a trace on a subsequent voyage. I wonder if he was the victim of a whale strike?

[@stuartriefe1740]

IMBrute- I read Slocum’s book!

[@Vykk_Draygo]

Doubtful. Many more likely ways to die at sea than by whale.

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

Could be. Remember Occam's Razor.

[@carywest9256]

I bet he was et by a shark or sharks! Wouldn't want to go out that way.

[@jliller]

There are a lot of things than can go wrong alone in a sailboat without radio communication. A whale attack or collision is only one of them, and one of the less likely.

[@sodoffbaldrick3038]

3 survivors of the Essex, Owen Chase, Thomas Nickerson, and Captain George Pollard Jr., are my second, fourth, and fifth, cousins, respectively, and George Pollard is said by many to be the inspiration for Captain Ahab.

[@theqashow2942]

If you enjoy this topic, I can recommend Nathaniel Philbrick’s Essex book. Btw, harpoons are not designed to kill the whale, just to tire it out while the whaling boat is attached via rope. Afterward, a well-placed spade to the heart/ lungs will do the poor creature in.

[@paulhunt598]

The Essex is a classic story and I am glad that he included it. Thank you for knowing who wrote it. I recall the book well, but couldn't remember the name of the ship, book or author.

[@michaelwebber9036]

InThe Heart of the Sea a great book excellent read

[@janlindtner305]

Nice lecture as always!👍

[@jonbradley4789]

Another lovely show. Good job team THG!

[@BB-oq4kc]

Excellent 👍 Thank you Lance

[@-jeff-]

A whale of a tale! (Just had to say that)

[@navret1707]

“I swear by my tattoo.”

[@douglasclerk2764]

Of course a tail of a whale would be too much of a fluke

[@NavigatEric]

Excellent commentary.

[@NuttySquirrel_8]

Your channel is fantastic. Thank you!

[@JohnPaul-ii]

We should be grateful that we didn’t manage to add the sperm whale to the ever growing list of extinct species we are responsible for.

[@stuartriefe1740]

I never expected this subject! Great pick, THG! Stu from Connecticut.

[@MontanaHarvestor]

Thank you for the informative vid HG.

[@checkmatekingtwothisiswhit7685]

Love your video title cards!

[@samhianblackmoon]

Love these old stories ♥️🔥👍🏽

[@cowboykelly6590]

It's obvious that some old paintings of attacking whales show that the painter didn't know and had never seen a whale before , at least spouting anyways. Love your show Sir. 🌊🏄‍♂️🐳

[@artcflowers]

Love your graphic earthy logo! Thanks for another good story.

[@patriciadean1649]

Thank you for great vids ❤😊

[@BrandyWine658]

I just came across you and I'm so glad I did. New sub. Great job!

[@Articulate99]

Always interesting, thank you.

[@trinitydairy]

Love your videos! Would love to see one on the 1918 fire in northern Minnesota. it's local history for me, but definitely deserves to be remembered!

[@soggytablet4852]

Thank you, that was fascinating.

[@BasicDrumming]

I appreciate you, thank you for making content.

[@abitofapickle6255]

Awesome content as always. Video suggestion: The MOH missions of the F-105 Thunderchief.

[@David-nx2vm]

In addition to superior content, your original opening credits are outstanding!

[@billstewartxxx]

excellent episode!!! Ahab!

[@ericburdick2590]

Whoever does your logo intros is awesome. Very creative and excellently executed!

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

I use a program called Viddyoze

[@Dirtzoo]

The art is awesome

[@markbowles2382]

Really good! You can always count on THG for a well spun yarn, thanks again THG.

[@lemonblossom0]

Theres a podcast I listen to called Ologies and in one of the episodes an expert explains that orcas have "culture" and participate in trends! They see other orcas doing things and copy, like attacking boats. I'm pretty sure most cetations have some sort of "copying" behavior purely for survival but (i think) these instincts surpass just survival and bleed into social life, like humans. A while ago I heard of them wearing things as "hats" and now they're messing with boats! I wonder what trends of theirs we've missed!!

[@lisahinton9682]

@cafeaulait8427 Fascinating! I am not sure if you're messing with us or not, though!

[@lazygardens]

They learn hunting tactics from their pods, and when an orca changes to a new pod they might bring useful behaviors with them. Some Arctic orcas will make a run at a small ice floe that has seals on it and slide across it, lashing their tails to knock the seals off for the rest of the pod. Friends of mine in NOAA were out on the floes doing seal population studies when they noticed this. They boogied for their dinghies and back to the ship.

[@williamrizzo8574]

Ologies is gold

[@mattgeorge90]

Thank you for sharing.

[@MrFroglips69]

Groovy episode.

[@fearthehoneybadger]

Just ask Captain Ahab.

[@MB5rider81]

Just ask Trump

[@fearthehoneybadger]

​@@MB5rider81Purpose of the stupid comment?

[@bluesonthehill]

There is an excellent book called "the killers of Eden", It relates the story of killer whales working with whalers on the east coast of Australia and details how the Orca's alerted the men when whales were passing by and help harry them to the surface to be finished off before taking the tongue and lips as their reward.

[@MegaJessness]

There's also a documentary about it somewhere on YT with the same title. I've watched it a few times. It's nice to hear the stories from some of the oldest residents :3

[@paulrummery6905]

Yeah it seems the Orcas have been herding migrating nursing whales and calves into Twofold bay for millennia, the aboriginal people there had a similar relationship with the Orcas and their preference for the tongue and delicacies. I lived down in the area, it's close to the continental shelf, deep water and the cold southerly currents reach up there..Eden feels a bit spooky actually. There's also a strange European stone structure near there dated 550 years old? Trippy.

[@richf5967]

One of the orcas name was Old Tom and he would tow the whalers out to catch them. Apparently his skeleton is in a museum and shows one of his teeth worn by the tow rope Fascinating relationship between humans and animal

[@paulrummery6905]

@@richf5967 yeah I've seen his skeleton, there's a groove worn in his jawbone from gripping the rope as he hauled whaleboats..

[@OneVerySadPanda]

Who took the tongues? The orcas or the whalers?

[@945hilo]

I feel smarter today thank you for your videos !

[@robinmatthewsechols1019]

I look forward to every video

[@BenjySparky]

THG you rock! Peace

[@alexamerling79]

Need to do more animal history stories :)

[@harryhanz1690]

Could you imagine Lance telling us all about Mr. Hands?

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

History and Animals kzbin.info/aero/PLSnt4mJGJfGgcLBqQycd5m99rSh4MEUyA

[@jeffbangkok]

Another interesting end to my evening. Good night

[@censusgary]

Whales fighting back against being harpooned to death belong to a different category from whales that attack ships without any apparent provocation.

[@MarshOakDojoTimPruitt]

thanks

[@uralbob1]

An interesting side story: During WWII, a U.S. submarine began to struggle to make way while submerged. The Captain believed that they’d been tangled in fishing nets, or anti sub/torpedo nets. Well, the reason for the lack of forward propulsion was that a whale had been struck on the bow, and had become impaled by the sub’s sharp prow. If my memory is correct, the sub was finally able to dislodge the whale from the bow of the sub by backing down. This information came to me via a history of submarine operations in the 2nd WW., published by the U.S. Navy shortly after the war.

[@steveshoemaker6347]

What a deal .....Thank THG🎀

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

Back in the Saddle Again Naturally!

[@CwL-1984]

Splendid 👍👍

[@flashgordon6670]

Did he?

[@ryanmclaren3899]

Waylon Cruz has some wild stories!

[@mobydick6420]

Orcas sank the yacht of Dougal Robertson in 1972. He wrote a book about it, Survive the Savage Sea. He & his family survived for 37 days in the lifeboat. Also his son Douglas wrote a follow-up book.

[@travisp5747]

I don’t believe it was a yacht tho

[@mobydick6420]

@@travisp5747 It was a 43-foot wooden schooner named Lucette.

[@lisahinton9682]

Imagine having to not only say goodbye to your coworker and probably friend, but to then sitting down to eat him. The poor bastards.

[@northdakotaham1752]

And no A1 sauce remaining!

[@goodun2974]

​@@northdakotaham1752, wirth noting that cannibalism doesn't give people a lot of calories to survive on; by the time you eat your half-starved companion he has almosy no body fat left, and without fat you can't break down and make efficient use of the energy in the meat protein. This can also cause kidney problems, like "rabbit starvation" can.

[@northdakotaham1752]

@@goodun2974 as sailors, you would think they would have fishing gear along and possibly catch something better to eat than each other. Even raw, the fish would be better....wouldn't it?

[@jimkessler2001]

Thanks!

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Thank you!

[@tropicalsailor2908]

The boats being attacked by killer whales near Spain are not large, expensive yachts. Almost all are sailboats under 50 feet. Many are the homes of families often with young children aboard.

[@billkendy4442]

Happy belated Birthday! 🎂

[@DISTurbedwaffle918]

Whales, like any animal, can get pissed off and decide that your boat would make an excellent stress reliever.

[@spokanefut]

A wooden ship will not completely sink: it's made of wood...except that it carries cargo and fittings which are neither wood nor buoyant. Therefore, so much for being wooden. I served on a minesweeper and the skipper told us to stay close to the boat if she ever went down, because she'd sort of hover just at the ocean surface or a bit above. Turns out I never saw the shore, much less a rock or other hazard.

[@ianwhitehead3086]

I loved this episode; as I do most. Would you consider retelling the story of the man eating tiger of the Russian Far East near Vladivastoc. I believe that there was a book written about this incident that may have occurred in the 80’s. “The Tiger”

[@whome4642]

Did you say that Moby Dick was the villain in the story? I saw him as more of a victim of the obsessed captain.

[@earth2006]

Dangerous creatures of the deep. It's the size of the creature that matters. Short story. Years ago, an Air Force Pilot was picking holes in the sky, over an ocean or sea, and looked down from about 20k feet, saw an octopus sunning It's self. An octopus large enough to be seen with an unaided eye, that would be a fairly large, most likely scary creature.

[@41corsair]

I’m pulling for the Orca’s

[@jliller]

In World War II a lot of whales probably got depth-charged by inexperienced sonar operators who mistook them for submarines.

[@50086gt]

Do you have any evidence for this idiotic assumption?

[@jliller]

@@50086gt It's come up in some of the books I've read about the Battle of the Atlantic. Why do you think it's "idiotic"? Plenty of rocks and shipwrecks definitely got bombed during the war because they were mistaken for submarines. Why wouldn't young, inexperienced sonar operators, edgy and trigger-happy because of an ongoing shooting war, using sonar that was far less precise and reliable than what we have today, mistake large underwater fleshy objects for large underwater metallic objects?

[@50086gt]

@@jliller I’m not a sonar operator, but I’m pretty certain they can tell the difference between metallic objects and objects that aren’t metallic, even back then

[@johnthomas2485]

I tead an article about a family of four sailing around the world who had their boat destroyed by Killer Whales off Chilli. The whales left them alone when they abandoned ship.

[@tanglediver]

For all the lore, and pomp, whales continue to be hazardous to boaters. Jerry Tibbs, a 51 year old restaurateur was killed while boating out of Morro Bay in late 2002, when a whale, presumably a humpback or perhaps a grey whale, breeched and landed on his 22 foot fishing boat.

[@gregcampwriter]

The main villain of Moby Dick is Captain Ahab.

[@richardklug822]

Maybe some, like elephants, just go "rogue"? Given our history of butchering these highly intelligent mammals, it's amazing they don't attack us more often.

[@flashgordon6670]

They’ll only attack us if we get in their way and they think they’ll win the fight. A couple of depth charges and a powerful laser will soon put them back in their place and show them who’s boss.

[@beardedgeek973]

@@flashgordon6670 Of course they are in the right and we are in the wrong...

[@northdakotaham1752]

The sea is their "turf". You play by their rules.

[@flashgordon6670]

@@beardedgeek973 That’s why I always take my elephant gun when I go on safaris.

[@eatiegourmet1015]

I wonder if you could divulge your source for the account of the Essex. Just last weekend, going through my Dad's papers, there was a clipping and a hand-written note on that very ship and an account of it by Owen Chase, "1st mate aboard the Nantucket whaler 'ESSEX' which was rammed twice by an enraged sperm whale and slowly sank in the Pacific." Etc. Apparently, (according to the note), Owen Chase wrote an account, published in NY in 1821 under the title "Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex". Dad did genealogy as a hobby, and Chase was a family name on his father's side. I've no idea if we're related, I've just started going through the papers.

[@foriddo21]

HBD!

[@lisamoore6804]

The song "Wellerman" comes to mind watching this.

[@allanbrogdon9372]

Taking my 5 year old granddaughter to see the blue whale on 66 in Oklahoma she was afraid. You enter the mouth on a dock with teeth on each side. She had just seen Pinocchio!

[@Zebred2001]

Always nice to hear about whalers killed by whales!

[@oobrocks]

I learned a ton; I thought “Moby Dick” vs the Essex was only event!

[@markfalcon5949]

Great story about the greatest mammals on earth.

[@stephenduffy5406]

In 1828, the large American corvette USS Peacock, the then flagship of the Pacific Squadron, was rammed by a whale off the coast of Panama without warning or provocation. While she escaped, her hull was later found to be too damaged to repair, so she was broken up I New York and replaced with a new ship of the same name.

[@Mikdeelow]

A drunk approaches two rather large ladies at a bar and asks, “I cannot place your accent, are you from Scotland?” The ladies both yell, “Wales!” The drunk says,”oh! begging your pardon! Ard you two whales from Scotland?” badumpdump!!!

[@Vermontguy87]

I have been to the Nantucket whaling museum.

[@sproctor1958]

I enjoyed this... even though it had no pirates.

[@11BlackLamb]

Maybe it's Wi-Fi routers the newest thing on boats in a long time

[@reginaldinoenchillada3513]

"Mess around and find out." also, "Don't start none. It won't be none." -Mocha Dick

[@a_diamond]

This comment section is so wholesome 😊❤

[@mikemaresca4999]

Don't mind me... just here to witness THG utter the phrase "smashed by Dick", quoted from a sailor aboard the Fannie Karu.

[@indigobunting5041]

Sounds like in many of the incidences the whale was provoked by the sailors attacking first.

[@edwardbirdsall6580]

I am curious about the sword on your wall behind you.

[@lynnmccurdythehdmmrc2561]

Had no idea there had been so many ships damaged or sunk by whales.

[@johna1160]

7:20 One more syllable - ignominious.

[@boathousejoed1126]

It may be the modern electronics onboard that are causing/confusing the Orcas to "attack".