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Description
Until the 1870s whaling was a very important industry in New England. Sailing half way around the world to hunt the Sperm Whale in the Western Pacific ocean for its oil, the typical whaling vessel made terribly long 3 to 4 year voyages to fill its barrels with the rendered oil that provided the fuel for oil lamps and lubrication for machinery before the discovery of petroleum. Typical whaling vessels carried 20 to 30 men. At its peak, New Bedford had 429 whaling vessels registered calling it home port.
