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Phoenix (1821 whaler)

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History
United States
NamePhoenix
Owner
  • T&P Macy (1844)
  • Gardner & McCeave (1853)
BuilderRochester, MA
Launched1821
FateWrecked 12 October 1858
General characteristics
Tons burthen323[1] (bm)

Phoenix, or Phenix, was an American wooden whaler, launched in 1821. She plied the Pacific Ocean from her homeport of Nantucket, Massachusetts. She made ten complete voyages between 1821 and her loss, on her 11th voyage, in 1858.

Phoenix and her captain, Perry Winslow, discovered Winslow Reef, northwest of Canton, in 1851. The entire group of Phoenix Islands in the South Pacific are named after a ship, which was active in the area in the 1820s, which may be this ship.[2]

Phoenix was in the Galapagos in 1835 and 1836. On 10 January 1836 the crew was ashore and left graffiti carved into rocks there. While in the Galapagos islands the crew also gathered tortoises to eat, perhaps as many as 140.[3]

Whaling voyages

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Between 1821 and 1858, Phoenix made 11 whaling voyages:[4]

Departure Return Master Sperm oil (barrels) Whale oil (barrels) Notes
1821, Sep 1824, Apr Harris, David 1935
1824 1826 Temporarily withdrawn from whaling
1826, Dec 1829, Jun Fitzgerald, William 2234 0
1829, Oct 1831, Aug Gardner, John J. 2340 0
1831, Oct 1834, Jan Wilber, Sanford 2205 0
1834, Jul 1837, Feb Hussey, Isaac B. 2345 0
1827, Nov 1840, Feb Hussey, Isaac B. 2419 0
1840, Jun 1843, Feb Hamlin, Josiah 2241 24
1844, Sep 1848, Jun Winslow, Perry 1648 24
1848, Nov 1853, Feb Winslow, Perry 1648 10
1853, Jul 1856, May Morey, Israel 162 1975 10,800 lb (4,900 kg) of bone
1856, Oct 1858 lost Handy, Bethel (Bethuel) Gifford
Hinkley, J
150 1075

Fate

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Phoenix was lost on Elbow Island[5] in the Sea of Okhotsk on 12 October 1858, about 100 miles from Ayan.[6]

Citations

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References

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  • Churbuck, David (1904). The Reminiscences of Captain Thomas Chatfield. Cotuit, Massachusetts.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Denger, Otto; Gillaspy, Edwin (August 15, 1955). Atoll Research Bulletin, Canton Island, South Pacific (PDF). Vol. 41. Washington DC: Pacific Science Board, National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 13, 2006. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
  • Grant, K. Thalia; Estes, Gregory P. (2009). Darwin in Galápagos: footsteps to a new world. Princeton University Press. (ASIN: B00EM34EM6)
  • Starbuck, Alexander (1878). History of the American Whale Fishery from Its Earliest Inception to the year 1876. Castle. ISBN 1-55521-537-8.