The Fate of the Men Who Remained on the Island in In the Heart of the Sea

In the Heart of the Sea recounts a gripping maritime tale that, despite its initial box office disappointment of $94 million, has found a resurgence as a Netflix sensation a decade later. Directed by Ron Howard and adapted from Nathaniel Philbrick’s 2000 book of the same name, the film portrays the harrowing journey of the ship Essex’s crew, though it glosses over some darker truths, including a lesser emphasis on cannibalism and other significant events surrounding the Essex disaster. Nevertheless, it effectively captures the resilience and bravery of its surviving characters, notably three men who chose to remain on Henderson Island.

Survivors of Henderson Island: William Wright, Seth Weeks & Thomas Chappel

The Trio Who Chose to Stay: A Remarkable Survival Story

Among the Essex crew, only William Wright, Seth Weeks, and Thomas Chappel made the fateful decision to stay on Henderson Island, while the remaining crew members headed toward Chile. In the film, the narrative diverges by depicting Matthew Joy, the ship’s second mate, as staying behind, ultimately meeting a tragic fate. In reality, Joy was part of the contingent that departed the island, where he perished during the voyage.

Captain Pollard, whose character partially inspired Captain Ahab from Moby Dick, had guaranteed the three men that he would orchestrate their rescue if he reached South America. He honored this promise; after five months post-sinking, Wright, Weeks, and Chappel were retrieved by the Surry, an Australian whaling ship, in April 1821. Remarkably, all three men who sheltered on the island managed to survive, while out of the 17 who ventured towards Chile, only five returned alive.

Pollard’s Promise: The Rescue of the Henderson Island Survivors

Fulfilling His Promise

Honoring his pledge, Pollard organized the Surry’s expedition to rescue the stranded men shortly after he and his companion were retrieved by the Dauphin. Upon their rescue, Wright, Weeks, and Chappel were in a state of dissociation, initially fearful upon seeing their rescuers. Following their recovery, they promptly informed authorities about the surviving men on Henderson Island, leading to a successful rescue mission. According to Philbrick, these men endured an arduous 102 days on the island with limited supplies.

Henderson Island provided some sustenance, including birds that were so unaccustomed to human presence that they were easily caught. Just before Pollard’s departure, fresh water was discovered, which alleviated their dire situation somewhat. However, their stay was fraught with fear; they stumbled upon the skeletal remains of eight shipwrecked sailors in a cave.

As time went on, resources became scarcer. Survivor Thomas Nickerson recounted, based on conversations with Weeks, that their situation had grown increasingly desperate. The birds had evaded capture, and the freshwater source became unreliable, compelling them to collect rainwater whenever possible. Nickerson relayed Weeks’ gripping observations:

“The fish could rarely be caught. Worse than all, strange as it may appear, the little submerged fresh water spring was never afterwards left dry so as to be come at. And they had only the means left them to catch water In the hollows of the rocks, during showers, which would soon dry up, and they were then left without water until the next rain came on.”

Weeks’ narrative illustrates the harrowing realities faced by the trio, who battled against incredible odds to survive.

The Fate of Wright, Weeks & Chappel Post-Rescue

The Mixed Fortunes of the Survivors

Following their rescue, Chappel, Weeks, and Wright resumed work on the Surry before eventually returning to their respective homes. Their post-rescue lives varied significantly. Chappel transitioned from seafaring to missionary work but met an untimely demise due to plague fever in Timor. Wright faced a tragic end when he was lost at sea during a hurricane in the West Indies. Unlike other survivors who shared their accounts, such as Owen Chase, who chronicled a vivid narrative that went unaddressed in In the Heart of the Sea, the two men did not publish their experiences.

Seth Weeks emerged as the most fortunate of the three survivors, representing a silver lining amid a maritime disaster. At just 16 years old during his rescue, Weeks returned to his hometown of Barnstable, MA, where he eventually achieved the rank of captain. He went on to lead a long life, passing away at 84 in Cape Cod, and is memorialized in Plymouth, MA. Despite becoming blind in his later years, he died peacefully, highly regarded in his community, as cited in his obituary in the Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror from 1887.

While his captaincy is confirmed, it is unknown whether he returned to the whaling industry. Given the era and the lucrative nature of whale oil, it remains a possibility. Conversely, Chase, another survivor documented in In the Heart of the Sea, did resume whaling, but this led to a decline in his mental well-being, eventually requiring institutional care.

Sources: Nathaniel Philbrick’s In the Heart of the Sea, American Heritage, Archive.org, Find a Grave

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