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
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