Ishmael (Moby-Dick) morning Ishmael and Queequeg head for Nantucket. Ishmael signs up for a voyage on the whaler "Pequod", under Captain Ahab. Ahab is obsessed by the white whale, Moby Dick, who on a previous voyage has severed his leg. In his quest for revenge Ahab has lost all sense of responsibility, and when the whale sinks the ship, all crewmembers drown, with the exception of Ishmael: “And I only am escaped alone to tell thee” (Job) says the epigraph. Ishmael keeps himself afloat on a coffin until he is picked up by another whaling ship, the "Rachel". The name Ishmael is
Perseverance (1801 whaling ship) acquired her. Voyage #15: Captain T. Craddock sailed from England on 24 January 1836, bound for Peru. He returned on 16 April 1838 with 40 casks (21 tuns) of oil. Voyage #16: Captain William Brown Nicholson sailed from England on 23 July 1838. "Perseverance" was reported at Mindano, Samboayana, and "Buutan". She returned on 30 July 1841 with 243 tuns of oil. "Perseverance" was broken up on her return from her last voyage. Citations References Perseverance (1801 whaling ship) Perseverance (or Perserverance) was launched on the Thames in 1801. She then spent her entire career of 16 voyages as a