### id262789548 abandoning a sound ship is emotionally difficult > Even the generally upbeat William grew solemn when recounting the moment of abandonment. “I doubt if I can adequately describe the leave-taking of our ship,” he wrote. “The usual abandonment of a ship is the result of some irreparable injury and is executed in great haste; but here we were leaving a ship that was absolutely sound, that had been our home for nearly ten months and had taken us safely through many a trying time.” > In the small whaleboats and by foot, 1,219 men, women and children embarked on a 70-mile trip to the waiting whaleships-turned-makeshift-rescue ships. Miraculously, everyone survived. > To accommodate the shipwrecked whalers, the waiting whaleships had to empty their holds, giving up the precious cargo they had spent months or, in some cases, years accruing. - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fqy6a6xsd3qzv05mkxzer3wa) - [[Dramatic Discovery of Two Whaleships Lost in Arctic for 144 Years by Erik Ofgang#id262789548 abandoning a sound ship is emotionally difficult|View in Vault]] - [I] #storystem/fic for a really sad vignette maybe?