Moby Dick's (Pequod). Two Brothers wreckage found.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pequod_(Moby-Dick)

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/gallery/2011/02/thar-she-blows-divers-discover-wreckage-belonging-to-captain-who-inspired-moby-dick.php?img=1&ref=fpb

Thirteen weeks at sea. July 24th to July 30, 1876

Monday July th/24
Begins with pleasant weather and wind
from S.S.W working to southward at sundown
shortened sail for the night as usual
Lat part weather the same saw one sail
Lat 36-08 N Lon 45-45 W

Tuesday July th/25
Com with pleasant weather and good wind from
S.S.W. ship working to south on diferant tacks
Lat part pleasant with light wind saw a sail
Saw Blackfish lowared the boats but did not
get fast
Lat 35 51 N Lon 46-08 W

Wednesday July th/26
Com. with light airs and hazy weather one sail
in sight heading W. by S. at 6 P.M. Came
up to S.W. by S Mid part heavy rain
Lat part pleasant weather Saw two sails
Lat 36-00 N Lon 46-48 W

Thursday July th/27
Com with pleasant weather wind from S.E.
at 1 P.M. spoke Bark Minasota Allen two weeks
out and got late papers Lat part strong wind
from S.E. ship on diferent tack
Lat 36-04 N Lon 45-54 W
[Bark Minnesota, Capt. David E. Allen - p. 654 Starbucks,
left New Bedford July 11, 1876]

Friday July th/28
Com. with pleasant weather and strong wind
from S.E ship working to S. on diferant tacks
Mid part had some rain Lat part fair with
wind S.E. ship heading to Eastward
Lat 36-00 N Lon 46-41 W

Saturday July th/29
Com - with wind from S.S.E. heading E.
nothing in sight Lat part light wind Stearing
to Eastward on the wind Saw one sail
Lat 36-33 N Lon 44-44 W

Sunday July th/30
Com - with pleasant weather and light wind
from S at 1 P.M. raised a large whale and
lowared for him Waste Boat got fast about 5 P.M. and
got to the ship with it about 1 AM commenced
cutting at 5.
Lat 36-37 N Lon 44 57 W

Whales in the news. July 12, 2009. "Watching Whales Watching Us"

The following quote is from a current news article in The New York Times which can be read in it's entirety here. This article discusses current whale research and a recent Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decision.

Whales, we now know, teach and learn. They scheme. They cooperate, and they grieve. They recognize themselves and their friends. They know and fight back against their enemies. And perhaps most stunningly, given all of our transgressions against them, they may even, in certain circumstances, have learned to trust us again.

Our "first mate" (nom de plume) found this tidbit in her research.

With this note attached

"found a crew list for the Tropic Bird in the May 9 1876 edition of Whalemen's Shipping List."

I believe this defines some additional roles for crew members that we did not know before. See the original crew list post here.

Owen H. Tilton -- [Vineyard Haven] -- Captain
Benjamin C. Blossom -- Dartmouth -- first mate
James A. Payne -- Mattapoisett -- second mate
George Arnold -- New Bedford -- third mate and boatsteerer
John Wilcox -- do* -- cooper and shipkeeper
John Connor and Samuel Greenham -- do -- boatsteers
Henry E. Montague -- Brooklyn -- steward
Edward E. Dixon -- New Bedford -- cook
Antone Eichman -- do*
Frank Joseph -- do
John Thomas Leo -- do
Theodore Gereeke -- do
Joseph Maiz -- do
Perdo Noonis -- do
Charles Smith -- do
Charles Kanaka -- do
Charles W. McKown -- New York
Antone Enos -- do
John Dight -- do
Samuel N Brush -- Tisbury
William L. Cone Jr. -- Eastham
William R. Wolfe -- Shefield -- seamen
John J. Armstead -- Charlestown -- seamen

Note: do = ditto

Example:
Edward E. Dixon -- New Bedford -- cook
Antone Eichman -- do
In this case "do" is ditto for New Bedford

Great find "SW" ...... Bev ..... !

Read some history.

THE WHALING FLEET.--The New-Bedford Standard, of Saturday evening, says: The bark Tropic Bird, which arrived here last evening from a whaling cruise, brought in a most excellent voyage, She has been absent but eighteen months, and Captain DAVIS hails seven hundred barrels sperm oil and fifty barrels of humpback oil. The cargo will probably "turn out" a larger quantity of sperm oil than reported.

read here and here

Capt. Owen Hillman Tilton (1836 - 1901) was a whaler, the son of Benjamin Tilton of Chilmark. The log of his voyage on the bark Tropic Bird during 1876-78 can be found in the New Bedford Whaling Museum. He later became a Vineyard Haven merchant, dealing in lumber, lime, bricks, cement, and fencing. He married Eliza R. Cottle (1839 - 1913?), the daughter of Edmund Cottle and (probably) Elizabeth Ridgeway, and they were the parents of Ernest R. Tilton, Frank Owen Tilton (1864 - 1923), and Herbert L. Tilton (1869 - 1948). Frank took over the Tilton Lumber after Owen died in 1901. "Bert" ran the H. L. Tilton plumbing shop on Main Street, which later became Tilton's drugstore (and finally, Yates.) Some Tilton Family History here.

Additional Bark Tropic Bird history here.