General shipyard page. Completed! Thank you all!

[ggordon]

The basic principle of OldWeather Whaling....
The reason for this project is that it is very hard to automatically sort the navigation and ice (and other specific items) from blocks of text. Having such pulled out and associated by line with date/time/position and page url offers the most effective means of turning text into actionable data. It also means that the data can be sorted in all kinds of ways.

If you have a doubt about an entry you can always come back to this principle, and/or ask for help on your whaler's Shipyard page.
This main principle will also appear on every Shipyard page.

Additional information can typically include the following which are entered on the remarks worksheet.

• natural phenomena (volcanoes, kelp, sun spots, auroras)
• crew names
• the names of other ships seen or visited
• reports of ice from other ships
• whaling details
• other animals seen

Where to start then?

• Transcribing: capturing the log details, and information resources which is a 'must read' before you start transcribing
• Transcribing: managing your recording workbook

Have fun while you work and please do enjoy the help that is always available here from the moderators, in fact from everyone. And do also feel welcome to join in some of the lighter hearted side of OldWeather in the forum.

You will also bump into the OldWeather Arctic project which also extracts weather and ice details from the ships of the US Navy and Coast Guard. Your help with OldWeather Arctic would also be most welcome!

[ggordon]

Welcome on board the 'Atlantic' on voyage 18 April 1881 to 30 June 1881

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...

• START HERE. General outline, the project and how to help
• Transcribing: capturing the log details, and information resources
• Transcribing: managing your recording workbook

Tip: use ctrl+Pgup or ctrl+PgDn to quickly swap between the different worksheets as you move through start, primary, weather, and remarks sheets 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. Atlantic, crew 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 Atlantic's log pages in chronological order. All you have to do is increment the number at the end of the link: page/2, page/3, page/4 etc.

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Here is a log page that has been transcribed to help you to be familiar with the writing.
July 1st to July 6th 1881


On Arctic Sea for Polar Whales
Remarks Friday July 1st 1881 Civil Time
Lat by Obs 69 N Long by Chron 170, 30 W
Commeced with fog squalls wind moderate most of the
day clear AM saw Ice to the N of us all hands employed
boiling and stowed down oil Stowed off the main
Hatch lower hold stearing ENE

Saturday July 2nd
Lat by Obs 68,50N Long by Chron 168 W
Fair weather with moderate S wind about half on each tack
finished boiling all employed broke out and stowed down oil
in after hold saw Land

Sunday July 3d
Lat by Obs 68,25N Long by Chron 166,,30 W
Fair weather with moderate ESE wind AM on NE tack stood
in to the N of Point hope. PM run N to Cape Lisburne.

Monday July 4th
Lat Long
Commenced with a fresh gale from S at ten AM
stood in to the North E of Cape Lisburn and came to an
Anchor in seven fathoms of water to get water let out
60 fathoms of Cable about one PM strong gale and whirl
wind off the Land we draged our anchor off an 1/8 of a mile
hove it up and stood of to W set lower topsail we was
anchored one mile from shore we passed ground Ice whare
ther was about 18 fathoms of Water

Tuesday July 5th
Lat by Long by
Cloudy with strong breeses from S AM stood in
to NE of Cape Lisburn about 15 miles at one PM
came to an Anchor 1/2 mile from Land in seven fathoms
of Water and got two rafts of Water about 150 bbls of
Water Coopers setting up new Cask for water latter part
lite southerly wind
Wednesday July 6th
Clear with lite NE wind got a raft of Water bbls all together and
at eleven AM took our Anchor and stood of to NW and West

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Here is a transcription of the above log page. Click on the worksheet images below to see them at full size

Start worksheet (top section)
If you discover any metadata in the logbook please enter it on this page. Metadata means 'data about data'. 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.

Start worksheet


Primary worksheet


Weather worksheet


Remarks worksheet



Notes
'Civil Time' is noted, enter this on the START Sheet by 'Notes:'.


Link back to the list of logbook sections for transcribing

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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.

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The remainder of this topic is for you. Ask questions and share interesting discoveries with us to make these logs live.

[ggordon]

Questions about transcribing:

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The Atlantic uses a variety of methods for Lat long readings

lat by obs, long by chron - most usual

May 25 1881 - lat by land (https://archive.org/details/atlanticbar ... tla/page/6)
June 2 1881 - lat by compn (computation), long Do

Should the different methods be put at transcribers notes, ie where it is not lat by obs, long by chron
or doesn't it matter much?

Those details can go into the Remarks column. No need to note them as 'transcriber's note'. Thank you SPHolmes

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[ggordon]

Small pox problems:
19th April 1881
I sent Mr Mitchel to the shore to see if the crew could be allowed to land and have liberty there, soon returned without permission as we had come from Oahu where the Small Pox was prevailing.

[ggordon]

Hi
On the Atlantic log , I am having trouble working out when the times relate to


https://archive.org/details/atlanticbar ... tla/page/8

finshed boiling at 4pm tacked at eleven to ENE in fields of ice

does this mean -
4pm finished boiling, 11 tacked in fields of ice
or
4pm tacked, at 11 in fields of ice

There are many items like this in this log

[ggordon]

I'll read back through the log. Usually they have a habit of naming the time and its associated event, or the opposite (event then its time).
It's a shame that some logs are just not clear at all about this point. It can be down to reckoning on the distance between words. Well - the whole system being fairly vague takes some of the worry out of this.
Back shortly

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Right - just read through May and it seems that he generally names the time of an event before filling in that detail. Sometimes he brackets an event whereby he states the start time, the event and then the time that this stopped. So I'd go with the time is before the event, but keep a keen eye in case he doesn't always stick to habit. Does that help?

[ggordon]

Yes I'll do this, although I get the feeling he's a bit vague about anything other than trading, where he notes down the exact dollars paid. Maybe he was more concerned about his brothers viewing the logs than the whaling authorities as he was delivering packages for them

See the start of the log https://archive.org/details/atlanticbar ... la/page/n9

[ggordon]

Yes I'll do this, although I get the feeling he's a bit vague about anything other than trading, where he notes down the exact dollars paid. Maybe he was more concerned about his brothers viewing the logs than the whaling authorities as he was delivering packages for them

It just amazes me how telling a simple page of a few words can be. He really does seem to have that family shop business at heart.

[ggordon]

July the 4th 1881 on the Bark Atlantic up by Cape Lisburne up in the Chukchi Sea section of the Arctic Ocean

Not exactly the kind of day to hold a party on....
Starts with a fresh gale which turns into a strong gale at lunch time accompanied by a whirl wind of the land 'we dragged our anchor off an 1/8 of a mile' and then found ice.

[ggordon]

The Atlantic uses a variety of methods for Lat long readings

lat by obs, long by chron - most usual

May 25 1881 - lat by land (https://archive.org/details/atlanticbar ... tla/page/6)
June 2 1881 - lat by compn (computation), long Do

Should the different methods be put at transcribers notes, ie where it is not lat by obs, long by chron
or doesn't it matter much?

[ggordon]

Those details can go into the Remarks column. No need to note them as 'transcriber's note'. Thank you SPHolmes

[ggordon]

The captain is faithful to the family shop business...

July 16th 1881

at eleven AM spoke the BK Abraham Barker Capt Smith with 8 whales this season. They took a cask of vinegar we had for them, I sold to, or to be returned at San Francisco 65 Pounds of Tobacco and one Cask 276 Gallons and 832 Pounds of Bread also let them have an Old Whale Boat, to be returned or pay me Fifty Dollars for. gamed til four PM



And he bothers to note the deal with the Abraham Barker in the margin.

[ggordon]

I'm going to need a bit more time to track down 'shabs' in this day's log...

'got up most of our Whale Bone scraped the outside shabs which are four or five together'

It sounds to be a description of a batch of bones tied up together.

[ggordon]

Captain Wing is a lot more interested in trade than whaling, he hardly mentions when they catch one. He'd already tried to deliver the vinegar cask on 22 May:

spoke bark Abram Barker Capt Smith two whales this season gammed till six they took 50 iron poles and 326 lbs tobacco which we had brought out for them a cask of vinegar we had for them they did not take.

I wonder what else he traded that wasn't recorded in the logs? were they dry ships or did people have rum, etc on board?

[ggordon]

were they dry ships or did people have rum, etc on board?

I know that one or two got caught selling liquor to the natives. Whether that means that they all had it and drank I don't know. But a nip of something stiff to face the bracing weather of 'summer' in the Arctic might have proved very pleasant!

[ggordon]

That is a lot of tobacco

[ggordon]

Maybe they were trading it to the natives?

[ggordon]

I am reminded of this entry

Revenue Cutter Bear July 3rd 1886
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6919206 image 66
12.10 stopped in the ice + boarded and examined Schr. "Clara Light" of San Francisco C.B, Kustel master whaling. The Boarding officer reported having found 20 galls. whiskey in her forecastle, and the master and crew disclaiming all knowledge and ownership of the same it was thrown overboard, 8000 Winchester cartridges were found in the same place, were given in charge of the master and his receipt taken therefor, The crew nearly all of whom were intoxicated volunteered the information that 26 Bbls. of whiskey + 2 cases of Arms had been thrown overboard upon the approach of the Cutter.

I think there was a trade for village held stockpiles of whalebone.

[ggordon]

Interesting...
Perhaps tobacco was legal trade goods?

[ggordon]

Nice find SPHolmes I've certainly seen tobacco being bartered with the natives and it seems that this was OK. I can't imagine what it would do to your chest though and what does 326lbs look like? I guess it was pressed hard into blocks. Imagine smoking tobacco in a small hut with seal blubber lamps? Makes my eyes water just thinking about it.

Hurlock I love that quote from the Bear. Difficult to be sure but I'm guessing that they had at least 46 gallons of whisky on board at that point? Since no-one was sober - who really knows?