In 1820, the Nantucket whaleship Essex, thousands of miles from home in the South Pacific, was rammed by an angry sperm whale. The Essex sank, leaving twenty crew members floating in three small boats for ninety days. The incident was the Titanic story of its day, and provided the inspiration for Melville's Moby-Dick. The Narrative of the Wreck of the Whaleship Essex, by the ship's first mate, Owen Chase, has long been the fundamental account of the Essex's doomed voyage.

Hai<br />I'm trying to do some reasearch for the show "Mythbusters." I once heard, a very long time ago, a rumor that the ship was sank by a collision with a whale and not an iceberg. I know I heard this, but I can't find anything online that supports my claim.I'm not looking for proof that the ship was sank by a whale, as I am 99.999% sure it was indeed the iceberg, but I am looking for some story of someone who thinks it might have been a whale.<br />--------------<br />

Besides, the rumble of the engines and the props splashing and churning the water would cause any whale to go away from the ship. Whales are smarter than we think.

the largest North Atlantic whale is the right whale and can weigh up to 70 tons, the Titanic was 46,328 tons, it would take more then a whale to tip it into anything

I saw something on tv one night about this. Some one was saying that maybe a whale had come up for air and smacked into the Titantic. Tipping it into the ice berg.. I can't remember what program it was , but I remember watching it.

I have been studying Titanic almost 20 years and I never heard this story, since it is unlikely a whlae would be that deep in the Atlantic in april. Plus all the eye witnesses who saw the iceberg and played with the ice chunks as they fell on her deck

Hi all
I'm trying to do some reasearch for the show "Mythbusters." I once heard, a very long time ago, a rumor that the ship was sank by a collision with a whale and not an iceberg. I know I heard this, but I can't find anything online that supports my claim.

I'm not looking for proof that the ship was sank by a whale, as I am 99.999% sure it was indeed the iceberg, but I am looking for some story of someone who thinks it might have been a whale.
Regards
Dave