Drop down from the slippery deck,
As he shook the tide, from his glassy side,
And sporting mongst ocean and wreck.

Sea Song, from the Journal of a Sailor

Out of more than 2,200 sailing Yankee whaleships, the Charles W. Morgan is the sole survivor.
Built in New Bedford in 1841 by Quaker Charles Waln Morgan (1796-1861) of Philadelphia at a price of $52,000, the Morgan is a stellar example of a Yankee whaler of its period.
During her 80-year career as a working whaler, she made 37 voyages, ranging from 9 months to five years duration.
During her tenure, she brought home 54,483 barrels of oil and 152,934 pounds of whalebone.
She sailed the entire Pacific, Indian, and South Atlantic Oceans.
She never sailed into the Arctic, however, as her various owners (six in all) felt the risks were too great and the expense to outfit her too high.

Originally built as a full-rigged ship with square sails on all three masts, the square sails were removed from her mizzen mast in 1867, making her a bark.
This rig was typical of New Bedford whalers of the last half of the 19th century.

Home to more than 1,000 whalemen during her career, her crews averaged 33 men per voyage.
At least five of her 21 masters brought their wives and children with them.
One of the wives wrote a very interesting book about one of her crusies, if I can find the name I will post it.