Cornelius Hunt | Shenandoah Down Under

Shenandoah Down Under Episode 48

Posted on October 28, 2015 in css Shenandoah

Oh dear, in this new episode, the feuding on board the ship has reached new heights, with Surgeon McNulty calling Mr Blacker an “English Irish Orangeman”, and thereby deftly uniting race and religion in one deadly insult.

Can things get worse? Can they ever! When Executive Officer Whittle tries to remonstrate with the drunken McNulty, McNulty “shows him his pistol” and there is a physical altercation. This can only mean one thing between gentlemen, and that is a duel (of course if McNulty was an ordinary crewman XO Whittle would have cheerfully had him triced up in irons and a gag, so it is good to be a gentleman after all…)

As if this was not enough for one episode, Rob finally delivers on his promise to describe how to measure the height of an iceberg using a sextant. To use this method you need one or more icebergs, a sextant, a moving ship, and a knowledge of trigonometry.

As Rob admittedly has none of these things the result is something of a thought experiment; however he does also describe an old loggers’ trick for working out if a tree you’re cutting down will fall on your house, using only your arm and a stick. What is the essential requirement for the length of the stick? Find out in the 48th episode of Shenandoah Down Under, aka Confederate Pirates Save the Whales, the one where men show their pistols (to other men).

Shenandoah Down Under Episode 44

Posted on September 2, 2015 in css Shenandoah, Whaling

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As the Shenandoah sails further into the Southern Pacific heading for Cape Horn there is trouble aboard for Lieutenant Lee. Surely this couldn’t be worse than hearing the news that his uncle (General Lee) had surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House?No, not worse than that, but pretty close, as Sydney Smith Lee is caught smoking on watch. Within a day the Ship is embroiled in dissension, other officers are telling the Captain that they also smoke on watch, and Lieutenant Cornelius Hunt is informing the men that they are only to be paid five percent of their wages owed on the return to Liverpool (which, even if true, is unhelpful).

With this series of direct challenges to his authority what will Captain Waddell do? Will he start out autocratic and then back down weakly? Will he dig a hole and then just keep digging?. Find out in episode 44 of Shenandoah Down Under, the one with the smoking.

Shenandoah Down Under Episode 43

Posted on August 26, 2015 in css Shenandoah, Sea Shepard, Sea Shepherd, Whaling

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As the Shenandoah continues through the Pacific on the way back to Liverpool, Captain Waddell’s behaviour grows increasingly erratic, and, to quote Surgeon Lining, things are going “from worse to worst”. First Lieutenant Debney Minor Scales is removed from his watch for the terrible crime of sleeping in, and then Lieutenant Cornelius Hunt is also removed from his command, because reasons. This leaves the ship so short of officers that the Captain takes a watch himself, a very bad state of affairs.

Rob and Mob then quote from Cornelius Hunt’s memoirs of happier times before the end of the war, when the Shenandoah captured the Abigail and it’s tremendous quantity of alcohol. On that occasion Captain Nye of the Abigail asked why the Shenandoah was so far north, and got the following reply:

“Why, the fact of the business is, Captain,” replied the officer, facetiously, ” we have entered into a treaty offensive and defensive with the whales, and are up here by special agreement to disperse their mortal enemies.”

What pretty sentiments from men now driven to bickering and fighting. Will the officers of the Ship pull themselves together? Find out in this weeks episode of Shenandoah Down Under.