The Whitby whaler.

[Kitosdad]

WHITBY : 1820.

Ellie Jewson scooped her long skirts out of the dust and lightly stepped aboard the pony and trap that her father had brought to the front on the fine manor house in which they both lived on the moors of Pickering.

Whitby was only an hours ride away, and Ellie always loved to visit the bustling little harbour.
She took great delight in watching the whaling ships coming into port, and the way the wives and children rejoiced to see their fathers and husbands, who had been at sea for many long months.

Her father also loved to see the excitement in the face of his daughter, so together they drove across the moors to this delightful little harbour.

They arrived just in time to see a ship leaving the dockside.
The faces of the wives of the sailors were filled with worry, but the children were cheering and frantically waving goodbye to their fathers.
The sailors themselves were far too busy to return the waves, bustling around the deck and raising the great sails that would take them to the whaling grounds.

Life had been like this in Whitby for the last two centuries, but the good times were running out for the ships.
With the coming of gas, demand for whale-oil to fire the lamps in homes all around the country was on the wane, and the ships had to fight hard to make a decent living.

There was great competition between the captains, as to who could land the biggest catch in the shortest amount of time.
Over the years the whaling ships had increased in size, and the ship leaving port was over three-hundred tons in weight.

It had capacity for thirty butchered whale carcases.

Ellie watched all of the departure, her eyes filled with wonder and her head filled with dreams about the chase and capture of these giants of the seas.
How it would feel to stand in the crows-nest and sight the first of their quarry.
Of course she didn't relish the job of the harpoonist, nor of the men whose job it was to butcher the still half-alive animals, but the chase was what fired her imagination.

Whitby had more than its fair share of widows, for many sailors had lost their lives in the Arctic storms that battered these tiny craft.
Tales were told in the pubs of the many vessels that had capsized, due to the greed of a captain in overloading his boat in heavy seas, but these tales were only ever related in hushed tones.
The widows of these lost men were easily recognised, as they all wore dark drab gowns that reached to the floor, but even with their menfolk having been lost at sea, none ever failed to see the departure or arrival of a vessel.
It was the tradition of Whitby, and none ever defied it.

Ellie and her father watched as the ship disappeared around the mouth of the bay, then they toured the tiny shops that clustered the quayside.
They bought fresh fish and crabs before venturing into a small cafe for a warming drink, as it was bitterly cold on the quayside.

While they were sitting talking a young sailor came into the cafe and bought tea and sandwiches.
He sat at an adjacent table to theirs, and it wasn't too long before Ellie's father and the young man were busy chatting.
Ellie sat quietly at her father's side and perused the young man.
He certainly was handsome, or so Ellie thought.
He had introduced himself as Ralph Skinner, and Ellie had blushed furiously when he gently shook her hand.
Her father, being a banker, made sure that he kept on friendly terms with all of the captains and seamen.
They brought good business into his bank, and so it was only sensible to be cordial toward one and all in Whitby.

As the day began to darken Ellie's father said it was time they were making their way back home.
It wasn't a long drive, but the sky was definitely darkening, and he didn't fancy getting caught on the moors in a downpour.
They said their good-byes to Ralph and set off across the moors to their home.
That night Ellie dreamt of Ralph and their life together.

She was captivated by this dashing young sailor, and for the next couple of days the name of Ralph was never absent for long from her conversations.
Her father smiled. She was obviously smitten with this young man, but she was only eighteen, far too young to have serious thoughts about anything like that yet.

Over the next few weeks Ellie made every excuse that she could to visit Whitby and see Ralph on the quay working. They often spoke together, and inevitably she and Ralph fell in love.
Ralph suggested that they become engaged, and it was whilst returning home from one of her visits that she met her father's assistant who was hurrying to tell her that her father had taken ill.
She raced home and was met at the door by the local doctor who informed her that her father had died in her absence.

She was heartbroken that her father had not seen her one last time before he had passed away.
She mourned for days, but brightened slightly when Ralph attended her father's funeral.
He comforted her and returned to the house with her were they had tea.

After the meal Ralph once again brought up the subject of the engagement, but Ellie begged him to wait for a while to allow her to mourn the death of her father.
Of course he readily agreed, and it was some weeks before the engagement was announced in the "Whitby Times".

They decided to sell the house on the moor, and to buy a smaller one in Whitby.
They could buy a whaling ship and Ralph could be his own master at last.
They were both excited about the prospect of marrying and Ralph having his own ship, so it was decided that they marry as soon as possible.
They bought a small house, close to the headland in Whitby, and Ralph finally had his own boat and crew.

Two weeks later Ralph set sail with his crew. They were to be away for three months, and upon his return, Ellie and he would wed.
She kissed him a cheerless goodbye and watched him sail off into the sunset.
It was a fine ship, and Ellie was confident that their futures would be assured after Ralph returned with his first catch.

The weeks slowly dragged by and Ellie impatiently scanned the horizon for sight of his ship.
After three months she had the first twinges of doubt, and after four months many of the sailors and their wives looked at each other in a knowing way whenever Ralph's name was mentioned.
After five months all but Ellie accepted that Ralph and his ship had floundered in heavy seas and capsized, but Ellie refused to accept their point of view.

Every day she would stand there on the headland awaiting the return of Ralph and his crew.
He never did return, and she spent her whole life just waiting and watching for that speck on the horizon.

Kitos.
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