NZ Whaler Doco

The BBC is making a documentary about ex-Royal New Zealand Montague Whaler, the Essex which sunk in the South Pacific in 1819 whilst chasing an aggressive sperm whale. The Essex was twice rammed, the second blow knocking crew-members aboard the ship off their feet and fatally holing the ship below the waterline. Years later, the almost unbelievable story, including the surviving crew’s attempt at reaching South America, was recounted to Herman Melville who used the true story as the basis for Moby Dick.