John Nunn (sailor)

John Nunn (1803–1860) was an English sailor and author. During his time as a sailor, he was shipwrecked at the uninhabited Kerguelen Islands, which led to a three and a half year stay there. He recorded his experiences in a book that also described Kerguelen in detail.[1]

John Nunn
John Nunn (c1849)
BornJuly 2, 1803 Harwich, Essex

Early life

John Nunn was born the son of a fisherman on July 2, 1803, in Harwich, Essex, England. In his early years, he helped his father fish. At the age of 15, he started regular training and work on a turbot fishing trawler. Two years later he went to Holland and hired there on a fishing boat. He survived it sinking in the surf in heavy weather, went back to England, and continued to work as a fisherman on various boats.

In 1825, he joined Royal Sovereign that was headed to Kerguelen Island.[2][3] The ship arrived on the Kerguelen, which at that time were also called Island of Desolation or just Desolation.[4][5] The team started the hunt systematically. Due to unfortunate events during an excursion by Nunn and three other crew members in 1825, the Royal Sovereign left the Kerguelen without these four members of their crew, who survived on the Kerguelen.[6]

Shipwreck

On December 26, 1825, the Favorite struck in the rocky shores of the island off the west coast of the archipelago Saddle Island. The ship leaked and sank. The four crew members were able to save themselves and some equipment on the island. During a later search, the mother ship no longer found the excursion participants and sailed back to England without them. The crew of the lost Favorite remained on Saddle Island.[5]

Book

Nunn's book, “Narrative of the Wreck of the Favorite on the Island of Desolation Kerguelen Island Detailing the Adventures, Sufferings, and Privations of John Nunn was published in 1850.[7] In the book, he described experiences and observations during and around his three and a half year of forced stay on the Kerguelen.

References
  1. Speake, Jennifer (2003). Literature of Travel and Exploration: G to P. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-57958-424-5.
  2. "John Nunn, Narrative of the wreck of the 'Favorite', 85 first edition | Shapero Rare Books". shapero.com. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  3. "Narrative Of The Wreck Of The "Favorite" On The Island Of Desolation: Detailing The Adventures, Sufferings, And Privations Of John Nunn; An Historical Account Of The Island, And Its Whale And Seal Fisheries. - NUNN John - First Edition". www.maggs.com. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  4. geolounge; geolounge (2016-12-29). "Where are the Desolation Islands?". Geography Realm. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  5. "Kerguelen Islands / Islands of Desolation".
  6. "Figure 11.-Wrecked sealing gang surviving in Kerguelen islands [from a..." ResearchGate. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  7. "Narrative of the wreck of the "Favorite" on the island of Desolation [Kerguelen Island]: detailing the adventures, sufferings, and privations of John Nunn; an historical account of the island, and its whale and seal fisheries ..., by John Nunn et al. | The Online Books Page". onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
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