BALEEIRO CHARLES W. MORGAN MAH R.1993.876 página | 22
BALEEIRO CHARLES W. MORGAN O “Charles W. Morgan” foi um navio baleeiro americano <strong>do</strong>s séculos XIX e XX. Barcos <strong>de</strong>ste tipo normalmente recolhiam a gordura <strong>de</strong> baleias para produzir óleo, que era vulgarmente usa<strong>do</strong> na iluminação naquela época. Actualmente, o navio está em exibição permanente no museu Mystic Seaport, no Connecticut. O nome <strong>do</strong> navio vem <strong>do</strong> seu primeiro proprietário, um Quacker que era comerciante <strong>de</strong> produtos da baleação e que encomen<strong>do</strong>u a sua construção a um estaleiro <strong>de</strong> Boston. A viagem inaugural foi a 6 <strong>de</strong> Setembro <strong>de</strong> 1841, com <strong>de</strong>stino ao Oceano Pacífico e passagem pelo Cabo Horn. Essa viagem inicial durou 3 anos e 4 meses, após o que o navio regressou a casa com 1.600 barris <strong>de</strong> óleo <strong>de</strong> cachalote, 800 barris <strong>de</strong> óleo <strong>de</strong> baleia e 10.000 libras <strong>de</strong> osso <strong>de</strong> baleia, tu<strong>do</strong> no valor <strong>de</strong> USD$56.000. Nos seus 80 anos <strong>de</strong> serviço, o navio fez 37 viagens, cuja duração variou <strong>de</strong> 9 meses a 5 anos. O “Charles W”. Morgan”, no total, trouxe para casa 54.483 barris <strong>de</strong> óleo <strong>de</strong> baleia e 152.934 libras <strong>de</strong> osso. Navegou no Índico e no Atlântico Sul, sobreviven<strong>do</strong> a tempesta<strong>de</strong>s com neve e gelo e a um ataque <strong>de</strong> canibais no Pacífico Sul. Entre 1888 e 1904 esteve basea<strong>do</strong> em S. Francisco. O navio teve mais <strong>de</strong> mil tripulantes <strong>de</strong> todas as raças e nacionalida<strong>de</strong>s. As suas tripulações incluíram, não apenas americanos mas também marinheiros <strong>de</strong> Cabo Ver<strong>de</strong>, Açores, Nova Zelândia, Seychelles, Guadalupe e Ilha <strong>de</strong> Norfolk. Em média, a tripulação era <strong>de</strong> 33 homens em cada viagem. Durante os seus dias <strong>de</strong> serviço o “Charles W. Morgan” foi usa<strong>do</strong> em diversos filmes, incluin<strong>do</strong> Miss Petticoats (1916), Java Head (1921) e “Down to the Sea in Ships (1922). Na noite <strong>de</strong> 30 <strong>de</strong> Junho <strong>de</strong> 1924, o navio incendiou-se em New Bedford, ao sofrer a colisão <strong>do</strong> vapor “Sankaty” que estava à <strong>de</strong>riva, em chamas. Muito maltrata<strong>do</strong>, escapou da <strong>de</strong>struição por pouco. Com o início da era <strong>do</strong> petróleo refina<strong>do</strong>, acabaram-se os dias da baleação. O navio ficou ao cuida<strong>do</strong> <strong>de</strong> uma empresa baleeira até 1941, em que foi transferi<strong>do</strong> para Mystic Seaport, on<strong>de</strong> permanece até hoje como navio-museu. O “Charles W. Morgan” é o único sobrevivente <strong>de</strong> toda a frota baleeira americana oitocentista, em ma<strong>de</strong>ira. página | 23 THE “CHARLES W. MORGAN” Charles W. Morgan was a U.S. whaleship during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Ships of this type usually harvested the blubber of whales for whale oil, which was commonly used in lamps during this time period. The ship is currently in exhibition at the Mystic Seaport museum in Mystic, Connecticut. The ship is named for its original owner, a Quaker whaling merchant who or<strong>de</strong>red its construction from the shipbuil<strong>de</strong>rs Jethro and Zachariah Hillman of New Bedford, Massachusetts. The ship’s mai<strong>de</strong>n voyage began on September 6, 1841, with a journey around Cape Horn and cruised across the Pacific Ocean. Following the Morgan’s initial three year and four month voyage, she came home with 1,600 barrels of sperm oil, 800 barrels of whale oil and 10,000 lbs of whalebone, known as baleen, which was worth around USD$56,000. In her 80 years of service, she ma<strong>de</strong> 37 voyages ranging in length from nine months to five years. Charles W. Morgan, in total, brought home 54,483 barrels of sperm whale oil and 152,934 pounds of whalebone. She sailed in the Indian and South Atlantic Oceans, surviving ice and snow storms. Her crew survived a cannibal attack in the South Pacific. Between 1888 and 1904 she was based in San Francisco. Morgan had more than 1,000 whalemen of all races and nationalities in her lifetime. Her crew inclu<strong>de</strong>d not only Americans, but sailors from Cape Ver<strong>de</strong>, Azores, New Zealand, the Seychelles, Gua<strong>de</strong>loupe, and Norfolk Island. The ship’s crew averaged around 33 men per voyage. During its years of service, Charles W. Morgan was used in several movies, including Miss Petticoats (1916), Java Head (1921) and Down to the Sea in Ships (1922). On the night of June 30, 1924, the Charles W. Morgan caught fire when the flaming wreck of the steamer Sankaty, which had drifted across the Acushnet River from New Bedford harbor in flames, colli<strong>de</strong>d with her. Badly charred, Morgan narrowly escaped <strong>de</strong>struction. The whaling days came to an end with the perfection of refining petroleum. Morgan was un<strong>de</strong>r the care of Whaling Enshrined, Inc. until 1941, when she was transferred to Mystic Seaport, where she still stands to this day. The ship is the only surviving woo<strong>de</strong>n whaleship from the 1800s American fleet.