### id262788979 scouting parties help whaling fleets > On Sept. 9, the captains of the fleet met. They realized it was likely their ships would not escape and they needed to move quickly in order to survive. Going to shore and enduring the winter in the barren region was a grim prospect, as they only had a few months’ provisions and no shelter. > > The ships sent a scouting party via whaleboat, the much smaller and more maneuverable satellite vessels sent out to get whales within harpoon range. By a mixture of sailing, rowing and carrying these boats over bigger patches of ice, the scouting party reached largely open water and was able to find the other seven ships in the whale fleet, which were relatively safe from the ice. The scouts asked these ships to stay and assist with a rescue. - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fqy64v1cyw26pwk7q77jaeae) - [[Dramatic Discovery of Two Whaleships Lost in Arctic for 144 Years by Erik Ofgang#id262788979 scouting parties help whaling fleets|View in Vault]] - [n] I like the idea of fictionalizing this sort of thing because this meeting of the captains feels like a great chapter base, but what would the point of the story be? What would the character's point of entry be? There's definitely a short story idea here (not flash, maybe a novella, probably not a whole novel), but what's the underlying punchline? About the importance of listening to one's wife? About the value of not reaching too high? About abandoning capitalism and the pursuit of money? I like that. They could wind up deciding to stop trying to exploit nature and choose to pursue happiness instead of wealth and glory.