Two Brothers (ship)

A diver examines an anchor at the Two Brothers shipwreck site on August 24, 2008.
History
United StatesUnited States
Name:	Two Brothers
Out of service:	February 11, 1823
Fate:	Sank near French Frigate Shoals, February 11, 1823
General characteristics
Class and type:	Nantucket whaler
Tons burthen:	217 (bm)

Two Brothers was a Nantucket whaleship that sank on the night of February 11, 1823, off the French Frigate Shoals. The ship's captain was George Pollard, Jr., former captain of the famous whaleship Essex. The wreck was discovered in 2008 (announced on February 11, 2011) by a team of marine archaeologists working on an expedition for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

On her first whaling voyage, Two Brothers left Nantucket on 21 November 1818, with George B. Worth, master. She returned on 5 August 1821 from the Pacific with 1231 barrels of sperm oil and 158 barrels of whale oil.

On her second whaling voyage, Two Brothers left Nantucket on 13 November 1821, with George Pollard, Jr., master, and with destination the Pacific.

On the night of February 11, 1823—while sailing west through the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands with another whaling ship, Martha—Two Brothers found herself in a storm. The two ships became separated and Captain Pollard of Two Brothers was unclear as to his ship's position. Soon, Two Brothers grounded and sank on a reef near French Frigate Shoals. Captain Pollard did not want to abandon ship but his crew pleaded with him and they clung to small boats through the night. The next morning, they were rescued by Martha.

Thomas Nickerson, who served as boatsteerer on Two Brothers, wrote about the wreck. Nickerson had also served with Pollard on the Essex and survived its sinking. Nickerson's account is preserved in a manuscript titled "Loss of the Ship Two Brothers of Nantucket" (MS 106 F3.5) in the collections of the Nantucket Historical Association.