Harpooner_1837
British Southern Voyage
| WRI | BV039920 |
| Vessel | Harpooner |
| Master | Abijah Lock |
| Departure | 1837-04-25 |
| Return (days) | 1841-02-16 (1394) |
| Port (dock) | London (East India Dock) |
| Destination | Tahiti |
| East/ West | West |
| Owner (Agent) | Green, Wigrams & Green (Owner) |
| Cargo | 450 casks oil |
| Sources | SST1; SST2; SST3 ; ATSUU; NHA |
| Reports | Near Paita 19 August 1838; spoken by the Phoenix of Nantucket near the Galapagos 16 October 1838; spoken by the Constitution of Nantucket at Talcahuano 7 January 1839; reported 21 April 1840 at Sydney 25 November 1839 with 1200 barrels 31 months out |
| Notes | The Harpooner sailed, undermanned in terms of crew, in late April 1837. Of the crew of 30, only two had previously sailed on the Harpooner and only five had previously sailed on GW&G ships. Seven of the crew had never been to sea before. Lock put in to the Cape Verde Islands he supplemented the original numbers by recruiting six new crew, four of whom had never been to sea before. After rounding the Horn, the vessel called at Tahiti in October 1837, at Concepcion in April 1838 and again in January 1839, at the Marquesas in July 1839 and at Concepcion again in March and October 1840. The Harpooner's lack of success was no doubt partly due to the desertion of ten of the crew, including the third mate, in port at Concepcion in April 1838. Although Lock was able to secure eight new crew, he experienced similar problems again when he called at Concepcion in January 1839. This time seven crew deserted and the second mate was discharged. In all, 34 crew deserted from the Harpooner in a cruise lasting just under 46 months. The Harpooner arrived in London in February 1841 with a cargo of 450 casks of oil. Customs records indicate that the cargo contained a considerable quantity of train oil, so despite the high price sperm oil was attracting around £105 per tun, a portion of the cargo would only have sold for between £27 to £29 per tun.The crew list records that Abijah Lock was unable to sign his name on the completion of the cruise 'through a hurt'. On 19 August 1838 the surgeon of the Harpooner, Mr Hale, provided medicines to the Aurora of Nantucket. |
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