FITTING OUT
The last few days prior to a ship’s departure on a whaling voyage witnessed great activity along the wharves of all whaling ports: New Bedford, Fairhaven, Nantucket, Sag Harbor, Salem, and New London, to note but a few in New England; in Dundee, Scotland, and Bergen in Norway.
With the prospect of a voyage lasting perhaps three years, no item of gear for the ship or provision for the crew was overlooked.
On sailing day, with everything checked off and stowed below, the crew came aboard, the owners, their wives, and the townspeople crowded the wharf to cheer them on their way and wish them “Greasy Luck.”