Moby Dick (1998 miniseries) Moby Dick (1998 miniseries) Moby Dick is a 1998 American television miniseries based on Herman Melville's 1851 novel of the same name. It was filmed in Australia in 1997 and first released in the United States in 1998. The miniseries consisted of two episodes, each running two hours with commercials on March 15 and 16 of 1998 on the USA Network. Ishmael is a young sailor who joins the crew of the whaling ship "Pequod"; Captain Ahab is in charge of "Pequod". Queequeg meets Ishmael at a motel and joins Ishmael in his whaling journey. Ahab rejects the repeated pleas
Whaling in Norway In 1863, Foyn contracted the building of his first whaling ship—a steam powered ship (also with sails) that had seven whaling cannons—the "Spes et Fides" (Hope and Faith). The ship was also fitted with check boards to increase the drag on harpooned whales. He also incorporated a 'compensator' or 'accumulator' from the Roys system—a series of rollers and springs installed below deck—to help the thick whale line, attached to the harpoon, to take up some of the shock without breaking. Svend Foyn, after years of experiments and expeditions, patented the modern whaling harpoon in 1870, and his basic design is