NovelAI Scenario: Whaleship Essex

Description

Sailing from Nantucket in 1819, the whaleship Essex was struck by a vengeful whale in the midst of the Pacific Ocean in 1820. The Survivors must pack themselves into their whaleboats and cast themselves upon the mercy of the sea, as they struggle to survive in the heart of the sea. This is the real story which inspired Hermann Melville's Moby Dick. Can you survive?

Tags

survival, moby dick, pacific, whale, sea, ocean, essex, non-fiction, history

Prompt

The Whaleship Essex departed port in Nantucket, August 12, 1819. Despite adversity and a depleted whaling ground, the crew struck out, rounding Cape Horn and venturing into the vast Pacific, having some success in the Offshore Ground thousands of miles west of the coast of South America. On November 20, 1820, while Owen Chase is aboard the Essex, repairing a damaged whaleboat, scouts report a huge sperm whale on direct course for the Essex. The ship is stove by the angry whale, and rapidly sinking. The whaleboats are recalled but the damage is impossible to repair. Thinking quickly, the crew salvages what meager supplies and navigational equipment they can from the wreck. Each man looks about, fearful and keenly aware how unlikely it is that any of them will survive to reach dryland again. But still, they fashion the remaining three whaleboats into life rafts with makeshift rigging and raised freeboard to try to make them more seaworthy. The crew are divided into three boats, each lead by the officers of the ship: Captain Pollard, First Mate Owen Chase, and Second Mate Matthew Joy. You are aboard... [Click to expand]

The Whaleship Essex departed port in Nantucket, August 12, 1819. Despite adversity and a depleted whaling ground, the crew struck out, rounding Cape Horn and venturing into the vast Pacific, having some success in the Offshore Ground thousands of miles west of the coast of South America. On November 20, 1820, while Owen Chase is aboard the Essex, repairing a damaged whaleboat, scouts report a huge sperm whale on direct course for the Essex. The ship is stove by the angry whale, and rapidly sinking. The whaleboats are recalled but the damage is impossible to repair. Thinking quickly, the crew salvages what meager supplies and navigational equipment they can from the wreck. Each man looks about, fearful and keenly aware how unlikely it is that any of them will survive to reach dryland again. But still, they fashion the remaining three whaleboats into life rafts with makeshift rigging and raised freeboard to try to make them more seaworthy. The crew are divided into three boats, each lead by the officers of the ship: Captain Pollard, First Mate Owen Chase, and Second Mate Matthew Joy. You are aboard

Author Notes

Harrowing, desperate, survival, comradeship

Memory

Supplies are extremely scarce, and even harsh provisioning may not be enough to see you through. Fresh water is paramount. The hot pacific sun is cruelly beaming down upon you. The temptation to drink seawater is an increasingly present threat. Each boat begins the journey with two hundred pounds of hardtack (hard dry crackers), sixty-five gallons of fresh drinking water, and two live tortoises for sustenance.

World Info

View World Info

Pollard, Captain Pollard, The Captain
Captain George Pollard, age 29, is a Nantucket native. He is one of the youngest men ever to captain a whaleboat. A capable leader, but inexperienced he is humble and unassuming. He will try his best to keep his crew alive.
Crew
The crew of the Essex consists of Captain George Pollard, First Mate Owen Chase, Second Mate Matthew Joy, Boatsteerers Benjamin Lawrence, Obed Hendricks, Thomas Chappel, Steward William Bond, and sailors Owen Coffin, Isaac Cole, Richard Peterson, Charles Ramsdell, Henry DeWitt, Barzillai Ray, Samuel Reed, Isaiah Sheppard, Charles Shorter, Lawson Thomas, Seth Weeks, joseph West, William Wright, Cabin Boy Tom Nickerson, and you
Joy, Second Mate
Joy is the second mate, and the leader of a third, ill-fated lifeboat. He has a sickly disposition and is unlikely to survive.
coof, coofs
Nantucketers known off-islanders by the slur "coof" and deride these generally less experienced men, who were not typically raised in the whaling culture of Nantucket. The crew of Joy's boat is comprised entirely of coofs.
Owen Chase, First Mate, Mister Chase, Chase
Chase, 21 years old, is a Nantucketer, a voracious and ambitious whaler. He is hard on his men when working the whaleboats before the accident, as a first mate needs to be, but is also inspirational and downright heroic in his efforts to keep his mates alive. He tightly rations the provisions of food and freshwater, guarding them in a chest.
Nickerson, Tom
14 years old, the youngest man in the crew, is an eager boy on his first adventure in the wider world. Surviving aboard the whaleboat with Chase, he looks to his fellow Nantucketers for guidance and strength.

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Pollard, Captain Pollard, The Captain

Crew

Joy, Second Mate

coof, coofs

Owen Chase, First Mate, Mister Chase, Chase

Nickerson, Tom