Prince Edward's Isle

DESCRIPTION: A storm on August 25, 1848 caught about 100 whaling ships in the Bay of Whales. The sea ran "mountain high." "When shaping courses" consider land and tide. "Many a noble hearted lad lies on Prince Edwards Isle"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1857 (source: Frank-JollySailorsBold)
KEYWORDS: death drowning commerce sea ship shore disaster ordeal storm wreck sailor whaler
FOUND IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Frank-JollySailorsBold 40, "Prince Edward's Isle" (1 text)
Roud #31333
NOTES [246 words]: NOTES: The Prince Edward Islands are in the Indian Ocean, south east of the Cape of Good Hope (see Wikipedia "Prince Edward Islands" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince%5FEdward%5FIslands ). The Bay of Whales is "just north of Roosevelt Island, Antarctica" (Wikipedia "Bay of Whales" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay%5Fof%5FWhales ) - BS
There is also a Bay of Whales in New Zealand, on the east side of the Whangarapoa Peninsula (the long arm sticking off to the north of the North Island). This name seems to be almost forgotten now, but the Antarctic Bay of Whales wasn't even named until 1908! (see the Wikipedia article Ben cites). So it can hardly be the subject of a song from 1857.
On the other hand, while there was a lot of whaling around New Zealand in the 1830s, by 1848, the area had been fished out (see the notes to "Soon May the Wellerman Come"). So maybe this is yet a different bay of whales.
In fact, what if the Bay of Whales is in fact Baffin Bay, and Prince Edward Isle is, in fact, Prince Edward Island, which some whaler might have used as a base? Unlike the other Bays of Whales, people actually whaled in Baffin Bay in 1848.
Alternately, maybe we could change the year in the song. If we chose, say, 1838, then New Zealand would be a better bet, though I don't know if there were any big storms in that year.
Bottom line: something about the song needs attention, but we really can't tell if it's the date or the location or something else. - RBW
Last updated in version 7.0
File: FJSB040

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography