AMBERGRIS aka Floating Gold

Use of ambergris can be traced back to 1000 BC.

The Egyptians and Chinese used - not only as perfumes but they flavoured their food with it and also gave it as precious gifts.

The Turks use it in cooking, and also carry it to Mecca, for the same purpose that frankincense is carried to St. Peter's in Rome. Some wine merchants drop a few grains into claret, to flavor it.

Ambergris was regarded as more valuable than gold.

Pic: www.archaelolgy.org

In a report in The Australian, marine ecology consultant, Ken Jury, said the ambergris belched from a sperm whale was a foul-smelling substance but when recovered, often after several years, its consistency had changed and it was worth $US20-$US65 a gram ($27-$87).

"It's actually belched out by the animal, would you believe, and those few across the world that have witnessed that or heard it say it's quite remarkable.

"When a whale vomits, particularly a big sperm whale, apparently the sound of it travels for miles across the water."
Mr Jury said the finding was rare. "When the whale throws this out, it's discarded material that it can't digest and includes all sorts of things like hundreds of squid beaks and goodness knows what," he said. "The substance is actually lighter than water and so it floats around the ocean.

"If you were to pick it up immediately after the whale discarded it, you would put it back because it is so foul. However, over a period of floating around the ocean for 10 years, the sun and the salt water cleanses this amazing stuff. After 10 years, it's considered clean and all you are getting then is the wonderful musty, very sweet perfume which I have got to say is ultra-smooth."

It reads:
In vain it was to rake for Ambergriese in the paunch of this Leviathan, insufferable fetor denying not inquiry

And all the time numberless fowls were diving, and ducking, and screaming, and yelling, and fighting around them. Stubb was beginning to look disappointed, especially as the horrible nosegay increased, when suddenly from out the very heart of this plague, there stole a faint stream of perfume, which flowed through the tide of bad smells without being absorbed by it.
"I have it, I have it," cried Stubb, with delight, striking something in the subterranean regions, "a purse! a purse!"
Dropping his spade, he thrust both hands in, and drew out handfuls of something that looked like ripe Windsor soap, or rich mottled old cheese; very unctuous and savory withal. You might easily dent it with your thumb; it is of a hue between yellow and ash color. And this, good friends, is ambergris, worth a gold guinea an ounce to any druggist. Some six handfuls were obtained...

"The waxy, foul-smelling substance is lighter than water and can float for years, during which time it is cleansed by the sun and salt water and becomes hard, dark and waxy and develops a rich musky smell prized by perfumers around the world."

Said marine ecologist, Ken Jury.

The fact a whale vomits the indegestible material which it's stomach cannot absorb, means that excreting this junk is actually beneficial to the mammal.

"Ambergris is not a living organism, and no whales have been harmed in obtaining this material," said Fiona Guthrie, from Media and Public Affairs for the Australian Mission to the United Nations.

Pic: Pictures here is a small piece of pumice stone and a grey rock. As I am not fortunate enough to have found any floating gold, I offer these items as the nearest things in appearance to lumps of raw ambergris. Ambergris can weight anything from a few ounces (grams) to a hundred pounds or more.

Apart from its use as a fixative for fine perfumes, floating gold is also used as an aphrodisiac.

To create a sensual effect - rub a piece of ambergris on the skin.

Ambergris releases pheromones making it a true aphrodisiac, a property which has lead to the mystery and sensuality surrounding the product.

Ambergris has also been used to enhance the flavours of food and wine and for herbal and homeopathic remedies.

Pic: South Pacific island - what better place for romance!

MAI KHAO, PHUKET: -- The most expensive excrement in the world has been washing up on a Phuket beach: namely ambergris, or 'floating gold', as it is known.

Villagers living near Mai Khao Beach have been scrambling to collect the substance, which begins life as bile excreted by sperm whales.
Several hundred kilograms of it have already washed up and been gathered by local people hoping to make a fortune by selling it.
Suphot Jantarapornsin, a fisheries specialist at Phuket Marine Biological Center, confirmed that the substance was ambergris. He said the quantity of ambergris washing up on the beach meant more than one sperm whale must be in the area.
"The lumps are fresh and quite large so we can guess they are swimming close to the island," he said.
One lucky woman who works as a beach masseuse, said she had collected 30 kilograms of ambergris and was still trying to find more.

This report appeared in the Phuket Gazette 2009-10-02

The on-line report reads:
A family on South Australia's west coast has discovered a rare specimen of whale vomit on the beach that is tipped to be worth over $1 million. The specimen, known scientifically as ambergris, is sought after by perfume companies and worth about $US20 per gram. n The sample found on a beach near Streaky Bay weighs 14.75 kilograms.
Ken Jury, who is representing the family, says this is the first discovery of ambergris in South Australia.
He says the last specimen found in Australia was in Queensland.
"Two small pieces were found that I would suggest together would make up half the size of the one that's been found at Streaky Bay, and they realised something like $190,000 each," he said.

Could this snippet of information be the spark which inspired a book?

While the French perfumes made with Ambergris were hightly prized so were other whale products.

Being strong and pliable, baleen was a valuable by-product. In the fashion industry it was used in crinoline hoops and corset stays.
The upper jaw of the Southern Right Whale holds around 240 baleen plates (see picture).

Sperm Whale oil (also in picture) was used in lamps both for the home and industry.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, whale oil was in great demand to lighthouses and streets.

Sperm Whale blubber produced the finest lamp and luubricating oils, whilst the waxy oil found in its massive square head made the best quality candles.
Black oil, produced from the Southern Right Wawhale, was poorer in quality but was used for outdoor lighting.

Pic: Baleen in Maritime Museum, Hobart, Tasmania.

Beachcomber ... Melissa Cathcart
ANDY RUSSELL reported:
A GIRL aged ten is set to be £3,500 richer after finding this lump of WHALE SICK.
Melissa Cathcart picked up the rare ambergris while beachcombing on holiday.
The waxy substance known as "floating gold" is produced by sperm whales and used in perfume production to slow evaporation. It is worth £10 a gram.
Melissa's mum Kay said: "We recently heard on the radio about ambergris, but when Melissa found some I couldn't believe it!"
The 350g lump probably floated from around America or the Pacific before landing on Shell Island, Gwynedd, North Wales.
Kay, of St Helens, Merseyside, took the find to the SeaQuarium in Rhyl.
Manager Paul Murray said: "I've never seen any in the UK. It's amazing."
Kay said: "It would be brilliant if Melissa got a windfall from it."
a.russell@the-sun.co.uk

Two excerpts from a long and interesting article by Robert Cushman Murphy

Ambergris in a perfume laboratory: Two chunks, weighing eight pounds, lie on the table. The raw ambergris is ground in a mortar, added to 95% alcohol, and allowed to soak for six months or more, after which the tincture is filtered and introduced into fine perfumes.

After the bits of squid beak had been picked out of the lots of ambergris that passed through my hands, the residue was an ash-colored or darker substance which softened in the heat of the palm, and melted, below the boiling point of water, into a yellowish fluid resin.

At higher temperatures it volatilized into white vapor. "The dry lumps became electrified when they were rubbed slightly, so that they acted as magnets to re-attract all the squid beak that had been separated from them."

Re-publication of this 1933 article is dedicated to the Memory of Frank Wood, Curator of the Whaling Museum, New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Inspiration to write this novel came from several sources including: a lump of raw ambergris washed up on a beach in South Australia. It was reputedly worth a million dollars; a love of the Horatio Hornblower stories of CS Forester, and the 'Master and Commander' type adventures of Patrick O'Brian; a love of tall ships and the thrill of sailing on them, and finally the chance to cruise the coast of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula.

When the London publisher read the manuscript the described it as 'a marvellous story'.
Since publication in May 2010, the novel has received exellent reviews in UK and USA (see below).
It was first published in hardback and is still available from Hale Books (UK) or The Book Depository (world-wide postage free).

In 2011 it was published paperback as is available from AMAZON.com and Amazon.co.uk..

Also in 2012 available in 10 e-formats from Belgrave House and now on AMAZON for KINDLE readers.

FLOATING GOLD, published May 2010, has received excellent reviews by age-of-sail enthusiasts.
Here are some excerpts:

FLOATING GOLD is a wonderful blend of classic Georgian naval fiction, a mystery/thriller and a grand treasure hunt. A rousing tale, well told. It's a well-paced and vividly drawn tale of adventure in the high latitudes and on the high seas. Highly recommended.
http://www.oldsaltblog.com

When you have read as many naval fiction novels as I have, the first challenge a new author and book has to meet is - do the story and characters seem fresh? This is a challenge Floating Gold achieves from cover to cover in a pacy narrative which held my attention.
Would I like to read more of Captain Quintrell, Lieutenant Parry, Acting Carpenter Will Ethridge and their adventures? I certainly would.
A book I recommend.
http://www.historicnavalfiction.com

FLOATING GOLD is a nautical thriller that involves a well-plotted treasure hunt. Other nautical heroes too have been chasing treasures on the high seas and in exotic locations, most often Spanish galleons loaded with gold, but none of them - to my knowledge - have ever been chasing a treasure like the one that is featured in this book.
It is an innovative and entertaining tale, rich on detail about England and life at sea, and a tale that is very well told.
FLOATING GOLD is an excellent nautical fiction debut by Margaret Muir. I hope she continues to write about Quintrell - a character that I feel has a lot of potential.
If you like historical fiction, salty sea tales or clever adventures, FLOATING GOLD is a book you should get hold of - it is very entertaining, well written and intelligently plotted! http://www.navyfiction.com

To order a copy go to Hale Books (UK) or The Book Depository (world-wide postage free). Lending copies are also available from your local library.