Owen Chase

Owen Chase (1798-March 8, 1869(1869-03-08) (aged 70)) was First Mate of the whale ship Essex, that was struck and sunk by a sperm whale on November 20, 1820. Chase wrote about the incident in Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex. This book, published in 1821, would inspire Herman Melville to write Moby-Dick. Owen Chase made his living by killing whales both before and after this encounter with the 85 foot Sperm Whale. In the Essex disaster, Chase survived 90 days at sea in a small 7-man whaling boat, after a whale twice deliberately rammed a large whaling vessel. Chase and his fellow sailors were in the middle of a two year whale hunt, which had already killed 10 whales for their oil....