"This vessel hailed from Westport, Massachusetts. Starbuck in this 'History of the American Whale Fishery' included a note from the 'New Bedford Shipping-List' stating that Captain Hamblen while on this whaler in 1871 captured a cachalot and attached to him was an iron, belonging to the 'Catawha' of Nantucket, which had been sunk in this whale twenty years previously -- rather an uncomfortable article to carry for such a long time. Curiously enough, this was the second time this same captain had recovered a lost harpoon from this ship.
It might be well to point out that only one whaleboat is carried on the starboard side aft, for the reason that space must be left for lowering the stage to cut in the whale when brought alongside. Three boats are usually hung on the port side, one ahead of the other, another one or perhaps two being placed bottom up just the deck.
The artist has shown here two stunsails, not usually flown on whalers.
Some of Russell's water colors are not signed but are easy to recognize chiefly on account of the formation of the waves and their coloring."
See Allan Forbes, Whale Ships and Whaling Scenes as Portrayed by Benjamin Russell. Presenting Reproductions in Color of the Paintings of the Foremost Artist in That Field (Boston: Printed for the Second Bank-State Street Trust Co, 1955), 51.
