Welcome on board the Narwhal (Steam Bark) of San Francisco, Calif.. Mastered by S.C. Horace P. Smith, on voyage from March 12th, 1892 – December 31st, 1893 to the North Pacific Ocean.
If you'd like to 'finish' the journey by reading onwards from the 1st January 1894 you can. We've got that logbook too:
Narwhal 1894
Here you will find an example transcription of details
This is also a place to ask questions and request help with oddities in the log
You can bring the ship to life by sharing interesting finds from the log pages and other information about the ship
General help with marking and transcribing whaling logs
Weather and ice records from the whaling ships of the USA which contains the following
'must read' topics...
Tip: use ctrl+Pgup or ctrl+PgDn to quickly swap between the different worksheets as you move through start, primary, weather, and remarks worksheets to record your findings
Treasure trove of information in the Library
Over the years this forum has accumulated a broad spectrum of detailed information which is kept in the
Library
Please do take time to visit the Library because it will afford you a great deal of help. However, do feel welcome to ask questions at any time.
Help with images
- If you want to query some text please supply the page reference (the reference changes as you view the middle of a page), and an image of the text if you wish. Help for manipulating/posting images can be found in Guide to posting links and images. If you have any problems with imaging this is the board to post that question.
- Accessing pale images. The example page used below, opened through the 'Irfan' program, 'color correction' and adjust the brightness, saturation, and gamma correction. You may have your own program for adjusting brightness and contrast. Here are the before and after images using Irfan. Click to see them at full size.
Names of the crew
Names of the crew and notes of other ships mentioned or visited can also be recorded.
Crews and Ships Met.
To find the shipyard pages for other whalers
Link:
Find your ship, & the full list of ships logbooks for OWW
Select 'view single page':
When the log book image opens you will see two pages. It is easier to read the details accessing one page at a time. Use the icons at the bottom of the screen:
You can walk through Stamboul's log pages in chronological order. All you have to do is increment the number at the end of the link: page/
n3/mode/1up, page/
n4/mode/1up, page/
n5/mode/1up etc.
Here is a log page that has been transcribed to help you to be familiar with the writing.
August 1st to and including August 3rd, 1892 (The Archive has an error and will likely load page n33 - move forward to page n36)
You can check for more help with reading the text in the topic
Handwriting Help and Spelling
Here is a transcription of the above log page.
| Simple transcription | Phrases of text bracketed |
Monday August 1st
Thick foggy weather at 2 Am
got to the Hunter she was run out on
the Pacific shoal. lent assistance in geting
her off and at 5 Am started E. under steam
at 3 Pm thick fogg Ice heavy and thicker
we made fast to a grounded piece in 3 1/2
fathoms of water at 7 Pm the Grampus
and Karluk came up to us and anchored
| Monday [August 1st]
[Thick foggy] weather at [2 Am]
[got to the Hunter] she was run out on
the [Pacific shoal]. lent assistance in geting
her off and at [5 Am] [started E. under steam]
at [3 Pm] [thick fogg] [Ice] [heavy and thicker]
we [made fast to] a [grounded piece] in 3 1/2
fathoms of water at [7 Pm the Grampus
and Karluk came up to us and anchored]
|
Tuesday Aug 2nd
Strong breeze from the N.W. at 6 Am
the fogg lit up and we started to work E. at
8 thick fogg tied up to the Ice. at 10.30 it lit up
and we started under fore and aft sail and
steam at 5 Pm ship off Return freef at 8.30
Pm thick fogg had to tye up the Ice heavy and
aground at 11.20 Pm the fog cleared off
some hooked her on again
|
Tuesday [Aug 2nd]
[Strong breeze from the N.W.] at [6 Am]
the [fogg lit up] and we [started to work E.] at
[8] [thick fogg] [tied up to] the [Ice]. at [10.30] it [lit up]
and we [started under fore and aft sail and
steam] at [5 Pm] ship off [Return freef] at [8.30
Pm] [thick fogg] had to [tye up] the [Ice] [heavy and
aground] at [11.20 Pm] the [fog cleared off]
some [hooked her on again] |
Wednesday Aug 3rd
Strong N.E. wind with thick
heavy passing fogg squalls the ship hooked
on for all she is worth steaming through
the Ice along the land some times her
heel bairly clear of the bottom with
a lead of eight or ten miles of the near
est ship and the Grampus and Karluk
out of sight at noon passed Barter
Island at 9 Pm it shut in so thick
that I droped anchor ship 4 miles E of Dem
arcation Point
|
Wednesday [Aug 3rd]
[Strong N.E. wind] with [thick
heavy passing fogg squalls] the [ship hooked
on for all she is worth] [steaming through]
the [Ice] [along the land] some times her
heel bairly clear of the bottom with
a lead of eight or ten miles of the near
est ship and the [Grampus and Karluk
out of sight] at [noon] passed [Barter
Island] at [9 Pm] it shut in [so thick]
that I [droped anchor] ship [4 miles E of Dem
arcation Point] |
Notes:
- The ship works on Civil time (starts and ends at midnight):
July 17th Commences [...] at 3.40 AM [...] at 6.30 AM [...] at 11 AM [...] at 4.20 PM [...]
- If you'd like to 'finish' the journey by reading onwards from the 1st January 1894 you can. We've got that logbook too: Narwhal 1894
Start worksheet (top section)
If you discover any metadata in the logbook please enter it on this page. Metadata means 'data about data', barometer readings or temperature readings. See under 'Weather' at rows 32 and 33. For example, if you see that the temperature is in Celsius or Centigrade, that fact should be transcribed as metadata.
Click on the worksheet images below to see them at full size.
Start worksheet
Primary worksheet
Weather worksheet
Remarks worksheet
Here's a link back to the list of Narwhal 1892-1893 logbook sections for transcribing
Log Pages for Transcribing - apply here!
Warning: AUTOFILL function between worksheets.
Do not drag and drop the date or time on any of the worksheets because you may disrupt the autofill function.
If you are unsure that the autofill is in proper order you can check by pressing two keys on your keyboard.
You are certainly welcome to ask for help with this action.
The remainder of this topic is for you. Ask questions and share interesting discoveries with us to make these logs live.
