By the 1850s hundred's whaling ships anchored each year in "Lahaina Roads", the sheltered waters off Lahaina and Ka'anapali's popular place to get provisions, make repairs, recruit Hawaiian sailors, and give shore leave to weary crews.
Then, as now, humpback whales frequented these waters but were swift and difficult to catch. Whalers were more interested in larger species that produced more oil. There is, however, one record of Hawaiians bringing in a humpback.
Always eager to impress their colleagues, whaling ship captains would sail into Lahaina Roads under all plain sail, powered by the brisk tradewinds until they got into the lee of the island.
The ship in the painting is the Sunbeam, out of New Bedford. It sailed on its first voyage to the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean in 1856, and continued in service until 1909. A model of Sunbeam is displayed at the Whaling Museum at Whaler's Village, Ka'anapali.
Page 132, Voyagers
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