The Two Brothers Vessel Found February 14, 2011 by lukesheppard

The sunken ship which belonged to the captain who inspired writer Herman Melville for the Moby Dick novel has been found by US marine archaeologists. 

The vessel remains, named the Two Brothers was discovered in shallow waters off Hawaii. The ship sank in 1823 at the hands of Captain George Pollard when it hit a coral reef. His previous ship, the Essex also sank after a whale rammed it, providing Herman Melville with the narrative for his book. The Two Brothers remains were discovered be researchers from America’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) around 600 miles north-west of Hobolulu. Over time and in warm waters, the wooden ship had disintegrated, but the Noaa researchers managed to find harpoons, a hook which was used to strip whales of their blubber and cauldrons to turn the whale blubber into oil. Author and historian Nathaniel Philbrick who has been researching the Two Brothers, the Essex and their captain was overjoyed at the discovery of the ship describing it as “pretty amazing.” He said: “It just makes you realise these stories are more than stories. They’re about real lives.” The Two Brothers vessel sinking was fairly uneventful in comparison with Essex’s battle with the sperm whale in 1821. When the Essex sank, Captain Pollard and the crew drifted for three months at sea without and food or water, they even resorted to cannibalism before they were found. The captain gave up whaling and turned to a night watchman in Nantucket, Massachusetts.