Whalers in Lerwick

The whalers call in at Lerwick, Shetland Islands.

This modern watercolour by Dianne Sutherland shows Ship's doctor Alexander Trotter of the Fraserburgh whaler Enterprise and a piper from the Kirkcaldy whaler Abram parading through the streets of Lerwick as their ships visit the town on their way to the whaling grounds. In 1856 Alexander Trotter although still a medical student was signed up as ship's doctor for the Enterprise's trip to Greenland. It was the custom of the day for medical schools to send students on an ocean voyage. In 1880 Captain John Gray of the Peterhead whaler Hope took Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, as ship's surgeon on a Greenland voyage. Conan Doyle was then a medical student in Edinburgh.

Being able to play the pipes or fiddle gave a sailor an advantage when looking for a ship. Their music was good for moral when spirits were dampened by the often grim arctic weather and captains were much in favour of having a musician aboard.

A whale ship's piper playing in the streets of Lerwick, Shetland
©SCRAN/Aberdeenshire council
Whaleship's piper playing in the streets of Lerwick

The whaling ships brought badly-needed business to Orkney and Shetland as they stocked up for their journey north, as the following account of transactions reveals.

From a Diary of a whaling voyage. 1831. MS 673 Aberdeen University Library.

Departed Peterhead March 10th.

Anchored Lerwick Tuesday 15th.

Captain Allan and I went ashore to day. We had some very fine oysters a fisherman who brought them shelling them as fast as they could be swallowed. There was the master of a whaler there who did ample justice to the oysters and boasted that he had eat 200 at a time. The oysters cost very little only 6d (6 old pence, 2.5 new pence) per 100.

Numerous boats were alongside today with eggs, mittens, stockings, swine and other commodities for sale. The fisherman here appear to be much less corrupted in their manners than their brethren of the South yet they have a petty way of trying to overreach a person which is very offensive.

I killed a large herring gull today.

Wednesday 16th.

Numbers of Shetlandmen on board today. They offer many things for sale as Geese for 15d hens 6d eggs 3d per doz. Captain A bought a fine pig for 6/. (6 shillings, 33 new pence).