Whaling Troubles
November 30, 2008 > MAUI TODAY No Comments |
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Stay at Home Day
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The whaling ship Helvetius, named for French philosopher Claude-Adrien Helvetius, encounters terrible seas while attempting to harbor at Lahaina. The ship, carrying an enormous load of more than 1,400 barrels of whale oil, cannot find safe anchor anywhere near Maui, and so turns to Oahu, not the last time someone was dissuaded from Maui for Oahu and met disaster.
More than 170 years ago, no lighthouses guided ships around the islands. Strong Kona winds, powerful waves and driving rain drove the Helvetius onto the reef off Diamond Head. No one was hurt, and the ship was not in immediate danger of sinking. At this point, the cargo was worth more than the ship anyway. Fearing a fight for the salvage, the crew remained on board.
At dawn, when some of the near shore buoys became visible. Captain George Brewster sent a small boat to the harbor master, Stephen Reynolds, so he would send out the alarm. By the time Reynolds got to the ship, the raging sea had smashed the rig further down on the rocks, all but destroying it.
King Kamehameha III sent his own ship and men to cut through the exposed side of the hull, and eventually the barrels of oil began floating out. Hawaiians salvaged 500 of the barrels.
It took another two months before the rig disappeared entirely, and what was left was picked over by anyone who could get out there. Today, remains of some of the Helvetius lay beneath the waves for scuba divers to explore.
The Helvetius was one of four ships built by master French shipwright Stephen Gerard, who named them after philosophers, the remaining three being the Voltaire, Rousseau, and Montesquieu. Each ship had as its figurehead a bust carved in the likeness of the philosopher. Since the wreck, no one has seen the figurehead of the Helvetius.
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1866 Work begins on 1st US underwater highway tunnel, Chicago
1886 1st commercially successful AC electric power plant opens, Buffalo
1887 1st indoor softball game (Chicago)
1924 1st photo facsimile transmitted across Atlantic by radio
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1948 Baseball’s Negro National League disbands
1948 Soviets set up a separate municipal government in East Berlin
1954 1st meteorite ( 8 lb ) known to strike a woman (Liz Hodges-Sylacauga AL)
1958 1st guided missile destroyer launched, Dewey, Bath, Me
1966 Barbados gains independence from Britain (National Day)
1966 Radio time signal WWV moves from Greenbelt, MD to Boulder, CO
1967 Julie Nixon & David Eisenhower announce their engagement
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1970 George Harrison releases his triple album set “All Things Must Pass”
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1979 Ted Koppel becomes anchor of nightly news on Iranian Hostages (ABC)
1981 Porn star John Holmes arrested on fugitive charges
1983 Radio Shack announces the Tandy Model 2000 computer (80186 chip)
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1898 Roy (Link) Lyman NFL tackle (Chicago Bears)
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1924 Shirley Chisholm (D-Rep-NY), 1st black congresswoman/presidential candidate
1926 Richard Crenna Los Angeles CA, actor (Rambo, Summer Rental, Sand Pebbles)
1930 G Gordon Liddy Watergate felon, radio talk-show host
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1933 Linwood C Ivey NC, (Mayor-Garysburg NC)
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1937 Richard Threlkeld newscaster (ABC-TV)
1939 Walter Weller Vienna Austria, conductor (Vienna Tonkusteler Orchestra)
1945 Radu Lupu Galati Romania, pianist (Enesco 1st prize-1967)
1947 David Mamet US playwright/director (Speed the Plow, House of Games)
1949 Arthur Lee Washington Jr one of FBI’s most wanted
1950 Kathryn Witt Miami FL, actress (Pam-Flying High, Lenny)
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1950 Paul Westphal NBA guard (Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns)
1951 Dian Parkinson TV model (Price is Right)
1952 Mandy Patinkin actor/singer (Yentl, Alien Nation)
1954 June Pointer singer (Pointer Sisters-I’m So excited)
1955 Billy Idol [William Broad], rocker (White Wedding)
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1962 Bo Jackson baseball/football player (Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Raiders)
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1973 Bruce Yarnell Los Angeles CA, actor (Outlaws), dies at 35
1979 Zeppo Marx dies at 78
1981 Robert H Harris actor (Jake-The Goldbergs), dies at 72
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