Whalers in small boats, with their mother ship in the distance, approach a sperm whale and preparing to lance it.

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This illustration of whalers in small boats, with their mother ship in the distance, approaching a sperm whale and preparing to lance it, is from a 1902 edition of an excerpt from Cruise of the Cachalot: Round the World after Sperm Whales by Frank T. Bullen, the First Mate (published 1899). The harpooner has already thrust the harpoon and hooked the whale - he then changed places with the mate who has the right to lance the whale at close range - which will result, so all on board hope, in the whale's death. The Cachalot was out of New Bedford, Massachusetts.

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Size: 3489px × 5250px
Photo credit: © Ivy Close Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: ., bedford, boat, boats, bullen, cachalot, cruise, fishing, frank, harpoon, harpooner, history, industry, lancing, massachusetts, mother, ship, small, sperm, whale, whales, whaling