SAILING DAY PORTRAIT
Scrimshaw on matching fossil walrus tusks
on ebony and ivory mount. 
 9.5"H x 3.5"W x 2.25"D 

Winner of the Rudolph J. Schaefer Maritime Heritage Award 
at the 1995 Mystic International Marine Art Exhibition

The first woman sailed on a whaling voyage in 1822. By mid-century, nearly 100 captains' wives were a-whaling in the Pacific. The odysseys of the seagoing wives provide some of the most fascinating stories of the great era of Yankee whaling. Portrayed here are Captain Jared Jernegan and his wife Helen. In 1868 they sailed in the bark Roman with their two small children, Laura and Prescott. They rounded Cape Horn and in March of 1870 the Jernegans landed in Honolulu. In 1871, the Roman, commanded by Captain Jernegan was lost in the arctic ice along with 32 other whalers. The Captain and over 1,200 others were rescued. Not a single life was lost. The Jernegans continued whaling until 1888 when Captain Jernegan retired after 16 voyages spanning 48 years.

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