The Whaler Chance.

Progress, Volume II, Issue I, 1 November 1906, Page 28

The Whaler Chance.

To the Editor. Sir, — I noticed in your very interesting article on the New Zealand Mercantile Marine that you made only a brief mention of the old whaler Chance This vessel was built at Salem, date not exactly known, but long before her New Zealand skipper was born in 1818. She was launched as a fullrigged ship, and was christened the Bengal. Her dimensions were 100 ft. long, 24 ft 6m. beam, and having a capacity of 285 tons While sailing as the Bengal she was ice-bound in the Sea of Okhotsk, along with some other whalers While the latter was crushed, she escaped and carried all her crew, some hundred men, to Honolulu. In 1874 the Chance, as she was called at that time, passed into the hands of Messrs. Nicol Bros., of the Bluff, who fitted her with all the necessary requirements for coast whaling Whales were very plentiful at this time about Foveaux strait, Solander island and the West Coast. The Otago provincial government offered a bonus for a vessel first fitted out and despatched from any port in the province The Chance received the bonus, and sailed under the command of Captain P Gilroy She was exceedingly successful, and it was at this stage that Mr F T Bullen made the acquaintance of Captain Paddy Gilroy and his wonderful barque. Mr. Bullen speaks of her as being vilely unkempt and dirty as to the hull and gear, but he could not pay too high a tribute to Paddy's wonderful seamanship, and that of his polyglot Maori, half-caste and white crew on the rugged southern coast — I am etc , Wellington, 5/10/06 F G L AVION.