Aaron Smock, Aquatic Assassin, Hamptons, New York, Sag Harbor, Sarala Sarah, Sea Turtle, Sperm Whale, Whaling Museum - August 11, 2019

Sag Harbor, NY Whaling and Historical Museum Review

Aaron Smock and Sarala Sarah wearing Aquatic Assassin in front of Sag Harbor Whaling Historical Museum in Sag Harbor, New York

"Greasy Luck"

"Greasy luck" is a term coined by whalemen when whales were plentiful. Whalemen targetted the sperm whale, it had the most amount of blubber that could be used for oil and other products. Back then, there was no other alternative to whale blubber and men risked their lives at sea to chase these magnificent beasts. Even though this was in the 1800s, sperm whales are still a threated species today with only ~2500 sperm whales left in the world.

Aaron and I spent the weekend in the Hamptons and visited the Sag Harbor Whaling Museum ($8 for adults and $6 for students) to learn more about the whaling industry and its history in the Hamptons.

Aaron Smock in front of whaling boat at Sag Harbor Whaling and Historical Museum, Sag Harbor, New York

Whaling Boat

When a whale was spotted a small group of sailers would get on the smaller boat to row up next to it. Then they would harpoon the whale and the sperm whale would take off at speeds up to 15 miles per hour in treacherous seas. Whaling was dangerous to sperm whales and whalemen chasing the whales.

Did you read Moby Dick by Herman Melville? That was my first introduction to this history when I was young. The industry was big business - 1 ship filled with sperm whale blubber would be worth $72,000 back then, but it could take 2+ years to fill a ship. With inflation that’s equivalent to $1.5 million dollars.

Whaling try pot at the Sag Harbor Whaling Historical Museum in Sag Harbor, New York

Try pot

Above is a photo of a try pot, these were used to render whale blubber down into oil. The oil was used to light lamps, make soap and candles, back then there was no other alternative to whale oil.

Whale tooth with whaling ships, whales and whalemen and mountains carved on them in the Sag Harbor Whaling Historical Museum in Sag Harbor, New York

Carved Sperm Whale Tooth

The whale bones and teeth were used as well, it could take 100 hours to polish 1 whale tooth to make the surface smooth enough to carve on.

Sea turtle at the Sag Harbor Whaling Historical Museum in Sag Harbor, New York

Sea Turtle

This little guy was at the museum too, sea turtles can be 2-4 feet long, but the largest species could grow up to 9 feet long! Whaleships sometimes caught turtles for food.

.15 cent Suffolk County Bank Fractional Currency "Shinplasters" 1862 at the Sag Harbor Whaling Historical Museum in Sag Harbor, New York

.50 cent United States Fractional Currency 1869 after Civil War "Shinplasters" Sag Harbor Whaling Historical Museum in Sag Harbor, New York

Fractional Currency

Did you know? .15 cents used to be a piece of paper? So was .50 cents!

Pocket Pistol 1851 forerunner of Derringer pistol Sag Harbor Whaling Historical Museum in Sag Harbor, New York

Pocket Pistol

In 1857 NYC actually did have 2 different police departments, but they were more interested in fighting with each other than actually protecting citizens. Citizens would use this pistol for personal protection.

Scuba diving 19th centruy retreving torpedos at Sag Harbor Whaling Historical Museum in Sag Harbor, New York

Here a factory worker is retrieving torpedoes.
Would you go diving in this?

The Evolution of Harpoons "Irons" Two Flute iron Single Flute Iron Grommet Iron Temple Toggle Iron Improved Toggle Iron Improved Toggle Iron

Evolution of Harpoons (aka "Irons")

The harpoon has evolved through the years, quite a few similarities between the harpoon back in the 1800s to the 21st-century spearguns. In fact, between version #3 to #4 they added a matchstick or a small piece of wood to keep the spear straight and when they threw it through the sperm whale it would break the stick and the spear would turn 90 degrees as you see on version #6.

Oil painting with whaling ship and scene of men harpooning sperm whale at sea with blood everywere at Sag Harbor Whaling Historical Museum in Sag Harbor, New York

Life on a whaling ship was hard, some say those that die were the lucky ones. 1 in 3 men would die at sea, mostly due to diseases.

Thanks to Edison we were able to move away from using whale blubber, now we can enjoy these magnificent creatures in the wild.

Have you seen a whale? I have seen a few in Cabo, and Aaron had the privilege of swimming with a whale shark, which was amazing.

We were here a few days too early to meet Alec Baldwin and Kevin McAllister (not to be confused with Kevin McCallister :) the two have partnered with Defend H20 to present "Living on the Edge in the Face of Climate Change - An Engaging Conversation with Alec Baldwin and Kevin McAllister" on August 15th at the Sag Harbor Whaling Museum in Sag Harbor, NY.

If you attend please let us know, we can all make a difference in reducing climate change!

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