Shipyard Page. Example Transcriptions, General Questions and Answers

[AvastMH]

Welcome on board the Hunter, a sailing whaler from San Francisco on voyage from 15th February 1893 to 8th Nov 1893. Mastered by A. Huntley, with the logbook kept by William F. Allen. Owner-agent: James McKenna

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 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 Hunter's log pages in chronological order. All you have to do is increment the number at the end of the link: page/59/mode/1up, page/60/mode/1up, page/61/mode/1up etc.

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Here is a log page that has been transcribed to help you to be familiar with the writing.
24th to and including the 27th of May 1893
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
Wednesday May 24th 1893 This day snowing and blowing from NE. Bark laying tied up to a cake of ice all day Nothing doing and not so very cold. Saw the land and four ships. cannot see far For snow. latter part light breeze but Still snowing. laying The same tonight.	Wednesday [May 24th 1893] [This day] [snowing and blowing from NE]. Bark [laying tied up] to a [cake of ice][ all day] [Nothing doing] and [not so very cold]. [Saw the land and four ships]. [[cannot see far] For snow]. [latter part] [light breeze] but [Still snowing]. [laying The same] [tonight].
Thursday 25th This day light breeze from the N. and NE. Bark steering to the N. working ice Saw nine sails nothing more. Thick Fog part of the time and a dead calm Tonight. laying aback.	Thursday [25th] [This day] [light breeze from the N. and NE.] Bark [steering to the N]. [working ice] [Saw nine sails nothing more]. [[Thick Fog] part of the time] and a [[dead calm] Tonight]. [laying aback].
Friday 26th This day plesant good breeze from N.E. Bark steering by the wind and laying aback Employed in ships duty. hauled up 120 Fathoms of chain and left it on deck Saw the land. Cape Naverine and Thaddus And nine sails one of them the N. Light Had her ensign flying. she is stove or Some thing is the matter the Triton is Laying alongside of her all day tied up To the ice. she hauled he colors down so We did not go to her. heavy ice around. Under short sail to night laying aback.	Friday [26th] [This day] [plesant good breeze from N.E.] Bark [steering by the wind] and [laying aback] Employed in ships duty. hauled up 120 Fathoms of chain and left it on deck [Saw the land]. [Cape Naverine and Thaddus] [And nine sails one of them the N. Light Had her ensign flying. she is stove or Some thing is the matter the Triton is Laying alongside of her all day tied up To the ice. she hauled he colors down so We did not go to her]. [heavy ice around]. [Under short sail] [to night] [laying aback].
Saturday 27th This day plesant good breeze from the NE. Bark steering by the wind. working ice Employed in working getting out water. Saw eleven sails and the land. Saw the Northern Light make sail to day So i guess she is all right saw a brig Under short sail to night and tied up To a cake of ice and blowing strong From the NE and fog and snow. This Is a great country i tell you	Saturday [27th] [This day] [plesant good breeze from the NE]. Bark [steering by the wind]. [working ice] Employed in working getting out water. [Saw eleven sails and the land]. [Saw the Northern Light make sail to day So i guess she is all right] saw a brig [Under short sail] [to night] and [tied up To a cake of ice] and[blowing strong From the NE and fog and snow]. This Is a great country i tell you

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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.
This ship log works in Civil time, see notation on Start page of workbook: 10th May 1893: https://archive.org/details/nbw-1298-b/page/79/mode/1up
'3.30 Am [...] at noon [...] tonight'

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 Hunter 1893 logbook sections for transcribing Log Pages for Transcribing - apply here!

Note: The logbook was re-uploaded to the archive in May of 2022 so while the links have been updated in this forum, the sample spreadsheet images above still show the old links.

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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.

[AvastMH]

Rum and whaling - a bad mix
Not only have they spent since February virtually remaking the ship but now they are in the Bering Sea in very cold weather. The poor log keeper has a bad report for 1st April:
'Capt and mate Both drunk. and been drunk for three days. I wish I had never come in this ship for it is nothing but rum a curse to mankind. But we hope for the best.'


More drunkenness on the 18th April. Not a good recipe in all of that ice with a 'growling crew'


And this is how hard it can be. Mr Allen is working the sail ship in ice (and sees steam whalers heading into the ice and so after the whales) and he's stuck doctoring a drunk captain all night...then back on whaling duty all day... 21st and 22nd April


It all reaches an angry pitch on the 17th June



29th April. It's not just the Hunter that has drink problems. I had a good laugh at the idea of this one...
They are stuck in holes/leads in the ice. Any whales seen have disappeared back into the ice.
'... Saw ten sails, and one bowhead, and fifteen boats after him, and some of the N.L. [Transcribers note: Northern Lights] Officers were so drunk. They could hardly sail their boats. Such is arctic whaleing. laying aback tonight.'

[AvastMH]

16th June. After getting close to the land and ice they 'got ashore' (i.e. run aground) but luckily made it off after emptying the ship, and just a smidge before Capt Healy and the wonderful Bear could steam in and save the day. I doubt that Healy would have looked kindly upon the drinking.

[AvastMH]

On the 6th April, just after arriving in the freezing Bering Sea, Mr Allen (our log-keeper) thinks back to a warm hearth at home...


11th April and poor Mr Allen is still dreaming of toastie feet by the fire:

[AvastMH]

1st July. The Hunter is at Port Clarence with 23 other ships avoiding the ice. Mr Allen reports that the Mate of the James Allen had his leg taken off by the surgeon of the Revenue Steamer Bear (a vessel of great importance in those parts). 'And is doing well i believe'.


My thanks to Randi for tracking down the concomitant report in the Bear's log:


Often whalers had to carry out their own surgery 'in the field' as it were. Not a thought to dwell on...

[AvastMH]

There are lot of comments about the steam whalers, here's one of them... August 6th 1893

I checked the Bear log, and although she does not mention firing guns on this day, the following day she mentions target practice (a barrel of beef was hit and sunk at 700 yards).

[AvastMH]

The plight of the sailing whalers like Hunter, compared to the power of the steam whalers, is sad. The height of the whaling industry was about 1885 after which stocks dwindled and kerosene took over much of the use of whale oil. The steam whalers were able to force their way further north through the pack ice, and even to commence over-wintering (though at heavy cost some years, 1897-1899 especially) in order to get an early start on whales moving down into the Bering Straits.
Mr Allen puts the situation well in this entry...
16th Sept 1893




Employed in doing nothing at all.
Saw seven ships and gammed the Bk.
Triton and got news from the steamers
Who wintered at Herschel Island, and
I tell you it was a pill. Over two Hundred
Whales, and i don't know how much
Bone, and all the steamers have got a
good cut, and we poor people
cannot get a whale [...]

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Addendum.
I've just been working through the log for the Steam Whaler California in 1895, just two years later. All is not well for her either. Stocks are almost impossible to find.
The final, sorry tally for that hopeless trip was as shown below. Again, a tiny sum of oil and bone compared to years like the mid 1880s. Link to log page



The total of oil shown above was noted on the 6th May 1895 which shows just how bad a trip this was. A lot of the summer was spent, apparently, around the seas between Herald Island and Point Barrow.

[AvastMH]

March 28th 1893
I had to have a chuckle at this slip up. They are in thick fog and Mr Allen accidentally writes the 'Fog Islands' and has to correct it to 'Fox'. Such a thick fog that it got into his head perhaps? Bless