AH-WR-0650

Parker

Whaling Ship · United States · Lost 1842 · The Hawaiian Islands

A New Bedford whaler driven onto Kure Atoll's reef by an 1842 storm, leaving her crew stranded for eight months.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

The New Bedford whaler Parker was hunting toward the Japan grounds when a September 1842 storm drove her onto the reef at Kure Atoll. The ship broke up within the hour, and survivors built a raft from her spars to reach the atoll's low island. There they lived for eight months on seabirds and seals before rescue arrived. NOAA archaeologists later located anchors and rigging from the wreck on the reef.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: New Bedford, Massachusetts
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: New Bedford whaling merchants

Loss

Date: September 24, 1842
Cause: Storm
Location: Kure Atoll, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
Water: North Pacific Ocean
Voyage: New Bedford, Massachusetts → Japan whaling grounds
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Crew survived and camped on Kure Atoll for eight months before rescue.
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Scattered wreck site with anchors, windlass, and rigging remains identified by NOAA archaeologists.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Within Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

Position

Coordinates: 28.39° N 178.29° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Kure Atoll
Region: The Hawaiian Islands

General area only: coordinate of Kure Atoll from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, not a surveyed wreck position.