On 20 November 1820, just south of the equator, the whaling ship Essex, spotted and pursued a shoal of sperm whales. As the crew started harpooning, the largest whale - some 85 feet long - rammed the Essex twice and stove in her bows . What followed was an epic three-month voyage in open boats across storm-tossed seas. Only eight men survived, sustained by eating those who died. This edition includes Owen Chases s famous account, as well as memoirs by two other crew members and a facsimile of Herman Melville s notes on Chase s narrative.