it was actually henderson island. you know, you can't make this stuff up. just as their on the verge of death, sight this island, sail up to it and there's no water. they can't find any water. until luckily it's a spring high and low tide and at dead low tide, bubbling from a rock that's usually submerged is freshwater. this is positively biblical. >> right. >> and it saves them for now. and you know, but they would realize -- you know, this is almost a metaphor for the human race on this planet because within just a couple of days, a couple weeks, they realize they are killing off all the wildlife that they could sustain themselves with, the birds, and if they stayed for any length of time, they would ultimately starve. so, you know, they decide, we got to push on. and it's then where three men, not nantucketers, a couple of them from cape cod, one was an englishman, realized, you know, this is an ingrown group of nantucketers, good luck to you boys, we're going to stay on dry land. so they would stay, and, you know, very emotional parting. and ultimately t

three others were left on henderson island. and when news came to nantucket and eventually the rest of the country, this was fitting news. this is before the american west had begun the predominant wilderness that incited the american imagination. the sea was the wildernize. this was the donner party before that all unfolded. owen chase would write an account of it, probably ghost written. that would become renowned around the country and the world. this is big news. so, this was a tale that nantucketers weren't particularly proud of but full of all sorts of fascination for those outside nantucket. so, this was a story i realized i needed to write about. >> and there's an interesting things in this disaster that come to mind as you're retelling it. on the one hand, this part of the pacific that they were whaling in the off shore ground, had only been discovered a year or two before as being a place rich with. whales and not a part of the ocean that the crew hof essex or many of their brethren had been to, that they knew very we

three others are left on henderson island. and when news came to nantucket, and the rest of the country, this was big news. this was before the american west had become the predominant wilderness, that incited the american magic nation. the sea was the wilderness. this was the place before the all unfolded. and there was an account of it, that would become renowned around the country, and the world. this was big news. so the essex, this was a tale that people from nantucket were not really proud of. it was a voyage that went bad. but it was a story with all sorts of fascination, for those outside of nantucket as well. so this was a story, i realized that i needed to write about. >> and interesting things there in this disaster, that come to mind as you are retelling it. on the one hand, this part of the pacific that they were willing in, the offshore ground, had only been discovered by american whalers a year or two before, as being a place rich with sperm whales. this was not really a part of the ocean, that the crew of the e

and that's where the men were. >> what's really interesting is henderson island has since become a kind of a vortex for plastic, floating plastic. i think it has to do with why the essex guys ended up there any way. the currents all sort of converge on this island. so that's kind of why these whale boats ended up there. the beach where they landed is now just full of plastic garbage. this once virgin island. it was virgin island when i was -- not a virgin island, but it was absolutely pristine back when i was writing in the heart of the sea, i had the great fortune to run across a scientific study of the ecology of henderson island. a group of scientists that lived there for an extended amount of time, all sorts of photographs, hugely impressive. helpful to me. and then to see now in the last two decades what's happened to that place is just heartbreaking. >> so i think we have time for just maybe one more. are there any other examples after this of whales attacking whaling ships? >> good question. yes, there are. the question is what was happening here? were the wha