Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale Ship Essex

by Owen Chase, First Mate of the Essex

“I saw the whale ahead of us, coming with twice his ordinary speed, and with tenfold fury and vengeance in his aspect. The surf flew in all directions about him and his course toward us was marked by a white foam which he made with continual violent thrashing of his tail; his head was about half out of water and in that way he came upon and again struck the ship.”

An angry whale rams and destroys a whale ship in 1820. The helpless crew stranded 1500 miles from land struggles in a desperate journey for survival fighting storms at sea, the relentless sun, lack of water and a dwindling food supply.

This is an audiobook recording of the a original unabridged book published by the author, Own Chase, in 1821, which influenced novelist Herman Melville when he wrote the classic novel “Moby Dick”.

Note to listeners: the end of this narrative describes cannibalism and may disturb some persons.

Read by Andre Stojka

Andre Stojka, known for his rich characterizations and his creative interpretation of the written word, has been a major voice over actor for over 30 years. Some of his best known voices are the Owl in Disney’s Winnie the Pooh movies and videos, the voice of Ernie Keebler, the Keebler Cookie Elf, the King in Disney’s Cinderella videos and Starlight in the Rainbow Bright television series.