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33-611: The Stone Fleet consisted of a fleet of aging ships (mostly whaleships ) purchased in New Bedford and other New England ports, loaded with stone, and sailed south during the American Civil War by the Union Navy for use as blockships . They were to be deliberately sunk at the entrance of Charleston Harbor , South Carolina, in the hope of obstructing blockade runners , then supplying Confederate interests. Although some sank along

66-491: A harvested sperm whale accurately described the age and future life expectancy of a given individual. The level of wax esters in the spermaceti organ increases with the age of the whale: 38–51% in calves, 58–87% in adult females, and 71–94% in adult males. Spermaceti wax is extracted from sperm oil by crystallisation at 6 °C (43 °F), when treated by pressure and a chemical solution of caustic alkali . Spermaceti forms brilliant white crystals that are hard but oily to

99-466: A head start to whaling in the Dutch Republic . In the late 18th and early 19th century, the owners of whalers frequently armed their vessels with cannons to enable the vessels to protect themselves against pirates, and in wartime, privateers . Weapons were also carried on vessels visiting Pacific islands for food, water, and wood in order to defend themselves from the sometimes hostile inhabitants. At

132-457: A long time and left the whale to thrash around in its death throes. These harpoons inject air into the carcass to keep the heavier rorqual whales hunted today from sinking. However, the harpoon-cannon is still criticized for its cruelty as not all whales are killed instantly; death can take from minutes to an hour. Japan is currently the only country that engages in whaling in the Antarctic, which

165-416: A means of adjusting the whale's buoyancy , since the density of the spermaceti changes with its phase. Another hypothesis has been that it is used as a cushion to protect the sperm whale's delicate snout while diving. The most likely primary function of the spermaceti organ is to add internal echo or resonator clicks to the sonar echolocation clicks emitted by the respiratory organs. This makes possible

198-409: A single, pure spermaceti candle. Spermaceti is derived from Medieval Latin sperma ceti , meaning "whale sperm " (from Latin sperma meaning " semen " or "seed", and ceti , the genitive form of "whale"). The substance was initially believed to be whale semen , due to its appearance when fresh. The substance is also the origin of the name of the sperm whale . Raw spermaceti is liquid within

231-461: A sperm whale, the whalers would pull the carcass alongside the ship, cut off the head and pull it on deck. Then, they would cut a hole in it and bail out the matter inside with a bucket. The harvested matter, raw spermaceti, was stored in casks to be processed back on land. A large whale could yield as much as 500 US gallons (1,900 L; 420 imp gal). The spermaceti was boiled and strained of impurities to prevent it from going rancid. On land,

264-524: Is 2,684 m/s (at 40 kHz, 36 °C), making it nearly twice as good a conductor of sounds as the oil in a dolphin's melon . Spermaceti is insoluble in water, very slightly soluble in cold ethanol , but easily dissolved in ether , chloroform , carbon disulfide , and boiling ethanol. Spermaceti consists principally of cetyl palmitate (the ester of cetyl alcohol and palmitic acid ), C 15 H 31 COOC 16 H 33 . Simple triglycerides are seen as well. A botanical alternative to spermaceti

297-490: Is a derivative of jojoba oil , jojoba esters , C 19 H 41 COOC 20 H 41 , a solid wax, which is chemically and physically very similar to spermaceti and may be used in many of the same applications. Currently, disagreement exists on what biological purpose or purposes spermaceti serves. The proportion of wax esters retained by an average (living) whale head appears to reflect buoyancy influenced by heat. Changes in density likely enhance echolocation. It might be used as

330-466: Is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japan , still dedicates a single factory ship for the industry. The vessels used by aboriginal whaling communities are much smaller and are used for various purposes over the course of the year. The whale catcher was developed during the Steam-powered vesselage , and then driven by diesel engines throughout much of

363-421: Is no longer the primary commercial product of whaling. Whaling is now done for whale meat for the relatively small culinary market. (Norwegian whalers account for about 20% of whales caught and Japanese whalers for about 60%.) Harpoon cannons , fired from harpoon ships with displacement in the hundreds of tons, are now universally used for commercial whaling operations. These motorized ships are able to keep up with

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396-686: Is now under the protection of the International Whaling Commission as the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary . The area formerly saw large scale commercial whaling operations by numerous countries before the moratorium. The three Japanese harpoon ships of the ICR serve a factory ship that processes the catch on board and preserves it on site in refrigerators, allowing the long endurance whaling missions. These whaling operations, which are claimed by Japan to be for research purposes, sell

429-503: Is the Pequod from the novel Moby-Dick . Spermaceti Spermaceti / s p ɜː m ə ˈ s iː t i / is a waxy substance found in the head cavities of the sperm whale (and, in smaller quantities, in the oils of other whales). Spermaceti is created in the spermaceti organ inside the whale's head. This organ may contain as much as 1,900 litres (500 US gal) of spermaceti. It has been extracted by whalers since

462-547: The Nisshin Maru of Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR) is the only whaling factory ship in operation. As compared to whaling before and during the 19th century, which was executed with handheld harpoons thrown from oar-powered whaleboats (depicted most famously in Herman Melville's Moby Dick ) , whaling since the 1900s has been quite different. Whale oil , which fossil-fuel based alternatives has supplanted,

495-476: The Norwegian and later British Royal Navies requisitioned a number of whalers for use in a variety of functions such as minesweeping , search and rescue , and anti-submarine warfare . Ten Allied vessels categorized as whalers were lost in the war. Since the 1982 moratorium on commercial whaling, few countries still operate whalers, with Norway , Iceland , and Japan among those still operating them. Of those,

528-553: The South Atlantic Blockading Squadron . Confederate general Robert E. Lee called the measure "an abortive expression of the malice and revenge of a people", and correctly deduced that the decision to try to block the harbor meant that the Union was not planning to attack Charleston in the near future. The event inspired Herman Melville to write the poem entitled, "The Stone Fleet". Whaler The term whaler

561-420: The 17th century for human use in cosmetics, textiles, and candles. Theories for the spermaceti organ's biological function suggest that it may control buoyancy , act as a focusing apparatus for the whale's sense of echolocation , or possibly both. Concrete evidence supports both theories. The buoyancy theory holds that the sperm whale is capable of heating the spermaceti, lowering its density and thus allowing

594-618: The Navy for this purpose, were loaded with stone and sand, or filled with dirt, then towed to a designated spot and sunk as a hazard to all craft that passed. Twenty-four whaleships were sunk in Charleston Harbor by Captain Charles Henry Davis , beginning on 19 December 1861. A second fleet of 12 to 20 vessels was sunk in nearby Mafitt's Channel in 1862. The operation was under the direction of Samuel Francis DuPont , Flag Officer commanding

627-399: The casks were allowed to chill during the winter, causing the spermaceti to congeal into a spongy and viscous mass. The congealed matter was then loaded into wool sacks and placed in a press to squeeze out the liquid. This liquid was bottled and sold as "winter-strained sperm oil". This was the most valuable product - an oil that remained liquid in freezing winter temperatures. Later, during

660-557: The contents of the head of a sperm whale. The crews seeking spermaceti routinely left on three-year tours on several oceans. Cetaceous lamp oil was a commodity that created many maritime fortunes. Candlepower , a photometric unit defined in the United Kingdom Act of Parliament Metropolitan Gas Act 1860 and adopted at the International Electrotechnical Conference of 1883, was based on the light produced by

693-453: The head of the sperm whale, and is said to have a smell similar to raw milk. It is composed mostly of wax esters (chiefly cetyl palmitate ) and a smaller proportion of triglycerides . Unlike other toothed whales, most of the carbon chains in the wax esters are relatively long ( C 10 −C 22 ). The blubber oil of the whale is about 66% wax. When it cools to 30 °C or below, the waxes begin to solidify. The speed of sound in spermaceti

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726-510: The meat from these operations on the market, allowed under the current moratorium to defer research costs. They are highly controversial, and are challenged by anti-whaling parties as being merely a disguise for commercial whaling. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has clashed with the Japanese whalers in the Antarctic in confrontations that have led to international media attention and diplomatic incidents. The most famous fictional whaling ship

759-647: The opportunity arise. In July 1793 the British armed whaleship Liverpool , of 20 guns, captured the French whaleship Chardon . However, the French crew succeeded in retaking their vessel. Also that year, an armed British whaleship captured the French whaleship Hébé in Walvis Bay . During the War of 1812 , the U.S. Navy captured two British whaleships, Atlantic and Seringapatam , and used them as warships. During World War II ,

792-670: The outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793, British privateers captured several French whalers, among them Necker and Deux Amis , and Anne . Dutch privateers captured Port de Paix and Penn . At the time, many French whalers transferred to the American flag, the United States being neutral in the Anglo-French war. Some whaleships also carried letters of marque that authorized them to take enemy vessels should

825-553: The ship's stern , whale catchers were able to transfer their catch to factory ships operating in the open sea. Previous to that was the whaleship of the 16th to early 20th centuries, driven first by sail and then by steam. The most famous example is the fictional Pequod in Moby-Dick , based on the whaling industry in Nantucket and New Bedford . Whaleships carried multiple whaleboats , open rowing boats used to chase and harpoon

858-411: The sleeker and fast-swimming rorquals such as the fin whale , that would have been impossible for the muscle-powered rowboats to chase, and allow whaling to be done more safely for the crews. The use of grenade-tipped harpoons has greatly improved the effectiveness of whaling, allowing whales to be killed often instantaneously as compared to the previous method in which whales bled to death, which took

891-415: The touch, and are devoid of taste or smell, making it very useful as an ingredient in cosmetics, leatherworking, and lubricants. The substance was also used in making candles of a standard photometric value, in the dressing of fabrics, and as a pharmaceutical excipient , especially in cerates and ointments . The whaling industry in the 17th and 18th centuries was developed to find, harvest, and refine

924-408: The twentieth century. It was designed with a harpoon gun mounted at its bow and was fast enough to chase and catch rorquals such as the fin whale . At first, whale catchers either brought the whales they killed to a whaling station , a settlement ashore where the carcasses could be processed, or to its factory ship anchored in a sheltered bay or inlet. With the later development of the slipway at

957-496: The way and others were sunk near Tybee Island , Georgia, to serve as breakwaters , wharves for the landing of Union troops , the majority were divided into two lesser fleets. One fleet was sunk to block the south channel off Morris Island , and the other to block the north channel near Rattlesnake Shoals off the present day Isle of Palms in what proved to be failed efforts to block access the main shipping channels into Charleston Harbor. Various old ships, specifically purchased by

990-404: The whale sensing the motion of its prey and its position. The changing distance to the prey affects the time interval between the returning clicks reflected by the prey. This would explain the low density and high compressibility of the spermaceti, which enhance the resonance by the contrast of the acoustic properties of the sea water and of the hard tissue surrounding the spermaceti. After killing

1023-437: The whale to float; for the whale to sink again, it must take water into its blowhole, which cools the spermaceti into a denser solid. This claim has been called into question by recent research that indicates a lack of biological structures to support this heat exchange, and the fact that the change in density is too small to be meaningful until the organ grows to a huge size. Measurement of the proportion of wax esters retained by

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1056-445: The whale. The whaleship would keep watch from the crowsnest , so it could sail to the signal and lash the dead whale alongside. Then the work of flensing (butchering) began, to separate the whale into its valuable components. The blubber was rendered into whale oil using two or three try-pots set in a brick furnace called the tryworks . Spermaceti was especially valuable, and as sperm whaling voyages were several years long,

1089-491: The whaling ships were equipped for all eventualities. There have also been vessels which combined chasing and processing, such as the bottlenose whalers of the late 19th and early 20th century, and catcher/factory ships of the modern era. The crews of whaling vessels fought small skirmishes for the control of the Spitsbergen whale fishery between 1613 and 1638. The Dutch were the first Europeans to visit Svalbard, and this gave

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