Thomas W. Long was an American whaling ship master.
Whaling career
Long was captain of the ship ''John and Elizabeth'' (296 tons), of
New London
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, in 1854; the ship ''India'' (433 tons), of New London, in 1855, 1856, and 1857; the barque ''Merrimac'' (414 tons), of New London, in 1858; and the ship ''Isaac Howland'' (399 tons), of
New Bedford
New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...
, in 1860, 1861, 1862, and 1863. He used the schooner ''Caroline'' (106 tons), of New London and then
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
, as tender from 1855 to 1858 and from 1860 to 1862.
[''Whalemen's Shipping List and Merchants' Transcript'', New Bedford, December 22, 1857, Vol. XV, No. 41.] He sailed to the
Sea of Okhotsk each season. In 1854 he obtained 800 barrels of oil. In 1855, up to September 8, he had taken 39 whales, which produced 1,800 to 1,900 barrels of oil; and in three seasons from 1855 to 1857, he got 8,000 to 9,000 barrels of whale oil with the help of his tender ''Caroline'', mainly cruising in
Tugur Bay and
Academy Bay. He left the ''Caroline'' in
Mamga Bay for the winter of 1856–1857. When he returned the following season three of the four men left with her had died, with the last expiring shortly after being taken aboard ''India''.
[ In 1858 he caught 52 whales, which produced 1,600 barrels of oil. In 1860 he caught three sperm whales outside of the Sea of Okhotsk as well as four bowhead whales in the sea, which yielded 40 and 200 barrels, respectively. In 1861 he got 1,450 barrels of whale oil and 70 of sperm, and in 1862 he caught thirty-two bowheads – one of which yielded 250 barrels of oil – for a total of 1700 barrels of oil. In 1863 he was only able to obtain 600 barrels of oil.
Among his commands was the barque ''Nile''. In 1867, as captain of ''Nile'' during a whaling voyage in the North Pacific Ocean, Long entered the Chukchi Sea and sighted ]Wrangel Island
Wrangel Island ( rus, О́стров Вра́нгеля, r=Ostrov Vrangelya, p=ˈostrəf ˈvrangʲɪlʲə; ckt, Умӄиԓир, translit=Umqiḷir) is an island of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is the 91st largest island in the w ...
. He described its southern shores, deeming it was a bigger landmass. Long named it "Wrangel Land" after Russian Navy seaman Ferdinand Wrangel (1797 - 1870). He also named Cape Hawaii and Cape Thomas on the same island.
Death
Thomas Long died at Tiksi Bay
Tiksi Bay (russian: Бухта Тикси, ''Bukhta Tiksi'') is a bay of the Laptev Sea that cuts into the northern part of the Sakha Republic, Russia. History
This bay was first surveyed by Russian Arctic explorer Dmitry Laptev in 1739. It was t ...
, then known as "Gorely Bay", in the Laptev Sea
The Laptev Sea ( rus, мо́ре Ла́птевых, r=more Laptevykh; sah, Лаптевтар байҕаллара, translit=Laptevtar baỹğallara) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the northern coast of Siberia, t ...
. There is a cross there marking the site where he perished.
Honors
Long Strait
The Long Strait (russian: пролив Лонга; ''Proliv Longa'') is a body of water in the Russian Federation.
History
This strait was named after the American whaling captain Thomas W. Long.
In August 1983, it was the site of a disaster whe ...
, connecting the East Siberian Sea and the Chukchi Sea, was named after him.[William J. Mills]
Exploring Polar Frontiers: A Historical Encyclopedia, vol. 1
Google Books
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Thomas
American people in whaling
American polar explorers
Wrangel Island