Chef Mark Mattern, MBA, CEC

  Whaling Authors Note: wright whales travel from Jacksonville Florida to this island as I have for this story. Long before the white man came to the island, the Indians salvaged dead whales that drifted ashore, recognizing the value of the oil and meat that could be extracted. It is thought that island inhabitants began to whale “alongshore” in 1690, pursuing the right whale from the south shore in 20-foot whaleboats manned by six person crews. The Indians and the white settlers were not rivals for the prize, but manned the boats together and shared the spoils that were valuable enough for a small  industry  to build up around them. It was not until a small sloop was blown out to sea by a gale in 1712 that the sperm whale was discovered to be the source of the finest quality oil, with quantities of it stored in its great head. Soon islanders were pursuing sperm whales along the Gulf Stream edges between Bermuda and the Carolinas and as far north as the Arctic Circle. So the age of Nan...