In the Heart of the Sea
The 2015 moving-picture show , In The Heart Of The Sea , is inspired by a thrilling genuine story of survival and bravery . direct by Ron Howard , the pic explore how the crew of a whaling ship confront a grueling struggle for selection at sea after their ship is pass by a whale . The movie is based on the 2000 book , In the Heart of the Sea : The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex , by Nathaniel Philbrick and explores how the events of the ship ’s sinking feeling and the crew ’s fight to stay alert inspired the creation of the 1851 novel , Moby - Dick , by Herman Melville .
The mold ofIn The Heart Of The Seaincludes Chris Hemsworth , Cillian Murphy , and Tom Holland , andthe movie explores how the gang were force to put their difference aside and use all of their skills and experiences to outlast their ship ’s sinking feeling . In The Heart Of The Seareceived sundry reviewsupon its initial theatrical release . However , it has since seenstreaming success uponIn The Heart Of The Sea ’s button on Netflix . In The Heart Of The Seahas been regarded asone of Ron Howard ’s best moviesand receive praise for its portrayal of the events which revolutionize one of the with child Book ever publish .
In The Heart Of The Sea Is Based On The Essex Whaling Ship
The Whaling Ship Was Launched In 1799
In the movie , In The Heart Of The Sea , an innkeeper named Thomas Nickerson ( Brendan Gleeson ) , suffering from drunkenness , is approached by the writer , Herman Melville ( Ben Whishaw ) , in 1850.Melville asks Nickerson to talk about his experiences at sea on card the ill - fated whaler ship , Essex , which sink thirty years prior . Although Nickerson is initially reluctant to talk about the tragic events , after some encouragement from his wife , he accord to talk to Melville about what happened to him when he serve on board theEssex , as a 14 - twelvemonth - old cabin boy ( Tom Holland ) in 1820 .
TheEssexwas build in Nantucket , Massachusetts , and launch in 1799 ; at the fourth dimension of the movie ’s events , Nantucket served as the center of the world ’s whaling industry . The ship weighed 238 tons and was 88 substructure farsighted , importantly smaller than other whaling ships launch from Nantucket ( viaNational Geographic ) . By the prison term theEssexset sail in 1820 , she had already completed six whaling voyages which leaven financially successful for the biotic community of Nantucket ; her achiever deemed theEssexa lucky ship by sailors , despite her little size compare to other ships ( viaNantucket Historical Association ) .
What Happened To The Whaling Ship Essex In 1820
The Ship Was Attacked By A Sperm Whale
Throughout InThe Heart Of The Sea , the old Thomas Nickerson recall to Herman Melville how theEssexmet her demise during her last voyage in 1820 ; the ship was scheduled to make a two - and - a - half - class ocean trip from Nantucket to whaling grounds in South America . The ship was captained by George Pollard ( Benjamin Walker ) , with Owen Chase ( Chris Hemsworth ) serving as the first checkmate . Ron Howard ’s film depicts how the ship traveled across to Ecuador , where they encounter a Spanish master who warns them of a " revengeful white whale"located within whaling ground , 2000 miles west of the shoring .
Some of the great thrillers ever made were in reality based on agonizing realness .
On November 16 , 1820 , theEssexarrived at the whale grounds , place around 1000 miles away from the Galápagos Islands . On November 20 , several members of the crew took the ship ’s whaling boats to go after sperm whales sight at the whaling grounds . While the first mate , Owen Chase , was making stamping ground on display board theEssex , a great sperm cell whale was spotted close to the ship . It was described by survivors as 85 feet prospicient , much larger than the average sperm cell whale that typically value 65 feet . The whale was key out by Chase in his memoir as a " very large spermaceti heavyweight " ( viaSmithsonian ) .
The sperm cell whale attacked the Kingston-upon Hull of the ship , before crush the bow , causing theEssexto apace set forth sinking . In his memoirs , Chase described the whale ’s attempt as " tenfold rage and retribution in his aspect . The surf flew in all direction about him with the continual trigger-happy thrashing of his tail . His pass was about one-half out of the H2O , and in that agency he came upon us , and again struck the ship . " The whaleboat promptly turn back and helped the surviving crew salvage provision for the next two days , before theEssexsank into the Pacific Ocean ( viaExplore the Archive ) .
How Many Of The Essex Crew Survived After The Sinking
The Essex Had A Crew Of 20 Men At The Time Of The Sinking
At the time of the ship ’s departure from Nantucket , theEssexsailed with a gang of 21 human , ranging in long time from 14 to 60 . The cabin boy , Thomas Nickerson , was the vernal appendage of the gang , aged 14 , and was traveling on his first voyage at sea . During the first two days at sea , a storm damage the whaleboats , which require fixture . When theEssexarrived at Atacames , Ecuador , in September 1820 , Harry DeWitt , a seaman , jumped ship , entrust the ship with a work party of 20 men .
The Crew ofEssex
Crew Member ’s Name
job
Age
Fate
Based on the real-life event that inspired Moby Dick, In the Heart of the Sea is directed by Ron Howard and stars Chris Hemsworth as Owen Chase, first mate of the whaling ship Essex who must fight for his life in the middle of the ocean when a whale destroys his ship, killing most of his crew and stranding him and a few survivors on a lifeboat. Cillian Murphy, Tom Holland, Ben Whishaw, and Brendan Gleeson also star.
George Pollard
Captain
29
hold out
Owen Chase
First Mate
21
Matthew Joy
Second Mate
26
expire
Obed Hendricks
Boatsteerer
20
fall back at Sea - presume Dead
Benjamin Lawrence
Thomas Chappel
nameless
Survived on Henderson Island
William Bond
Steward
Thomas Nickerson
Cabin Boy
14
Owen Coffin
Seaman
16
Isaac Cole
Harry DeWitt
Jumped Ship in Ecuador
Richard Peterson
60
Charles Ramsdell
15
Barzillai Ray
17
Samuel Reed
Isaiah Sheppard
Charles Shorter
Lawson Thomas
Seth Weeks
Joseph West
William Wright
18
AsIn The Heart Of The Seadepicted , the spermatozoon get significant legal injury to the ship , causing the crew members on board to jump in order not to go down with the sink vessel . In spite of the devastation because of the whale ’s onset , the 20 crew members managed to survive the sinking of theEssexand escape out to ocean on the three whale boat . The boat were captained by Captain George Pollard , first mate , Owen Chase , and 2nd match , Matthew Joy , respectively .
How Long It Took For The Essex Survivors To Be Rescued
The Crew Resorted To Desperate Measures To Survive
The crew of theEssexsailed for country aboard the three whaleboats ; they did their best to ration out their provision , butby December 20 , when they managed to navigate the whaleboat to uninhabited Henderson Island , they were watery with starvation and desiccation . The crew managed to find fresh water and hunted birds and Pisces for food , but after a workweek on the island , Pollard decide to lead as deliverance was improbable . Three member - William Wright , Seth Weeks , and Thomas Chappel - elect to stay , preferring their chances on country . The remaining gang left Henderson Island on December 27 , 1820 .
As more Essex crew members died of severe starvation , the remaining bunch had to recur to eating the dead bodies to have any promise of subsist .
On January 29 , 1821 , the three whaleboat became separated , with one vanish wholly . The man on board , William Bond , Obed Hendricks , and Joseph West , were never fancy again and make bold dead ; their bodies were never happen . As more crew phallus died , the survivors continued to eat their remains , with Chase echo the experience as " a terrible dilemma . “After 94 days at sea , on February 18 , the subsister were finally rescued by a British merchant ship , theIndian , with the three members on Henderson Island being rescued on April 9 . Out of 20 bunch members , only eight pull through ( viaAll That ’s Interesting ) .
How The Essex Whaling Ship Inspired Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick Became One Of The Bestselling Books Of All Time
After their delivery , the survivor returned to Nantucket and were reunite with mob members . Four month after his return to shore , Owen Chase loose his memoir , Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale - Ship Essex , documenting the sinking and the crew ’s ordeals at sea . Thomas Nickerson also wrote a memoir , The Loss of the Ship " Essex " slide down by a Whale and the Ordeal of the Crew in Open Boats , which was n’t officially published until 1984 ( viaHerman Melville Resource ) . Chase ’s memoir serve as the inspiration for Herman Melville ’s novel , Moby - Dick .
AlthoughMoby - Dickhas since been ranked as one of the bestselling record book in story , it only sell 3000 transcript during Herman Melville ’s life .
Melville ’s novel , Moby - Dick , was bring out in 1851 and chronicles the voyage of thePequod , captain by Ahab , who seek revenge on a large white spermatozoon whale that attacked him during a previous expedition . While it ab initio fall out of photographic print after Melville ’s dying in 1891,the book went on to become one of the most democratic books ever writtenand has been ranked as one of the 100 best novel in account ( viaThe Guardian ) . Ron Howard ’s movieIn The Heart Of The Seadepicted the sinking of theEssexin 1820 as a thrilling tale of survival of the fittest that inspired one of the most celebrated books ever create .
Sources : National Geographic , Nantucket Historical Association , Smithsonian , Explore the Archive , Britannica , All That ’s Interesting , Herman Melville Resource , The Guardian
Based on the real - liveliness event that inspired Moby Dick , In the Heart of the Sea is directed by Ron Howard and star Chris Hemsworth as Owen Chase , first mate of the whale ship Essex who must fight for his life-time in the middle of the sea when a whale destroy his ship , killing most of his crew and maroon him and a few survivor on a lifeboat . Cillian Murphy , Tom Holland , Ben Whishaw , and Brendan Gleeson also star .
