The major Hawaiian ports of call for hundreds of whalers during the 19th century were Honolulu and Lahaina, where whalers restocked provisions, replenished crews and transshipped whale oil cargoes following whale hunts in the Japan Sea, the South Pacific or
The major Hawaiian ports of call for hundreds of whalers during the 19th century were Honolulu and Lahaina, where whalers restocked provisions, replenished crews and transshipped whale oil cargoes following whale hunts in the Japan Sea, the South Pacific or the Arctic.
Whalers visiting the lesser Kaua‘i ports of Hanalei, Waimea and Koloa for like purposes benefited Kaua‘i’s economy.
Kaua‘i farmers grew potatoes and other vegetables to supply whalers. Paniolos sold them beef. Fresh water was in demand, and new businesses that serviced whalers — blacksmiths, bakers, boarding houses, carpenters, laundries, sailmakers and shops — flourished.
In the late 1840s, for instance, Hanalei rancher and former French consul for Hawai‘i Jules Dudoit packed salt beef for whalers at Hanalei.
And during the mid 1800s at Koloa, businessman George Charman sold wood, sheep, goats, butter, salt beef, oranges, coffee, bananas, Irish and sweet potatoes, melons, molasses and other supplies to whale-ship captains.
The dangers of whaling became apparent on Kaua‘i on several occasions. To cite two examples: In June 1842, the whaler “Jefferson” was wrecked on the reefs off Waimea with a loss of 2,560 barrels of whale oil. Another whaler, the “William Thompson,” was sailing about 45 miles northwest of Kaua‘i on April 18, 1847, when a fire was discovered in its hold. When it reached Waimea on the 19th, holes were bored into its deck and water was poured down its hold, actions that contained the fire well enough for its return to Honolulu for repairs.
Life aboard a whaler was harsh and discipline was severe, as was illustrated aboard the whaler “Hillman” off Waimea on 20 March, 1852, when its captain ordered his prisoners — two or three deserters captured on the Big Island — tied to the whaler’s rigging and given 12 lashes each.
