BLOWING UP WHALES

Waipa Post, Volume 32, Issue 1929, 2 November 1926, Page 6

BLOWING UP WHALES

METHOD (OF CAPTURE. During August, English and Continental whaling companies' recruit the crews to man their whaling stations in the South Atlantic (says Douglas Howard in the Daily News). The men arrive at the island of South Georgia, the gate to the Antarctic, in time to open the fishing season in October. Modern "whale-catch-ers," as they are cal'led, are steamdriven veissels 100 ft over all, with a 20f.t beam, built with a filaireld bow. and having a speed of 15 knots. On the platform of the bow is mounted the cannon-like wha'le gun, into the muzzle of which is fitted the. ideath-carrying explosive harpoon which weighs a hundredweight. Its point is formed by a comical bomb, fiiUleki with gunpowder that explodes three secon'ds after the! harpoon jhas left the mouth of the gun. To the shaft are fitted three 18in steel claws that open out, umbrella fashion when the line tightens aftefr ,the harpoon has entered the body of the whale. The harpoon is heM captive by 40 fathoms (240 ft) of 4in hemp line, which in turn is ispilieed to 120 fathoms -(720.ft) of 7in manila rope. From the butt-end of the harpoon the whale line passes through snatch blocks in. the shrouds of the! foremast and' from there' to ia steam, driven winich on the ship's deck. After a wha'le has been .sighted it often takes hours of patient chasing before the ship can be manoeuvred into a position suitable for taking aim. A lucky hit in a vital |spot will result in an almost immediate death, for the explosive harpoon inflicts terrible internal injuries. As often as not, however, the whale will put up a fight, and it i s then that the gunner liisplays his skill: From his precarious position on the gun platform he must be quick to 'dfirect the movements of the ship, now throbbing with action, and buoyant as a cork in the heavy Atlantic swell. Winch and whale Qlime taiust be used as carefully as an angler handles his rod and reel; for the best of ropes will part under great strain, and a valuable prize might quite easily be lost. A South Atlantic blue whale, 90 odd feet long, weighing probably 100 tons, will fiisplay tremendous energy when wounded, angry, and fighting furiously to (break away from the steel claiws that grb'p its ribs.