Historical Overview
Background
In the earliest days of the Promenade, the Seaside did not yet exist, and whaling fleets were community-organized affairs, which would leave via the nascent canals of the Landside. This hodgepodge of small ships, each generally crewed by a family, were eventually organized under a prominent local luminary known as the Pike. The Pike was responsible for leading the armada of ships, and eventually this position came to be held continuously by the same family.
"When the procession arrives in First Point, and the Patriarch of House Pike throws the ceremonial harpoon into the Sieve, the people of Seaside are gathering in The Portion and Dogshead for general revelry and drinking." - Sprayspot Festival
This family, who came to acquire the largest group of small whaling vessels at the time, was eventually known as the Pikes, their prior surname, if they had one, being forgotten. Their local dominance was codified by House Prominere, who elevated them to the status of minor house, cementing their importance to the then-formalizing whaling industry.
The Pikes utilized their connections as the most prominent local family to coalesce friends, allies, and sycophants around themselves. This allowed the family a solid base within the industry from which to expand their company. These original recruits into the Pike family business are known as Lances, and while they are not noble families, their names carry great weight in the industry to the present day. Using these Lances, the Pike's were able to delegate the day-to-day leadership of the whaling armada, and coalesce their connections into the Pike & Sons Company.
Boarding Knife Used For Flensing
The Pike & Sons Company needed to mandate a unified practice amongst their workers in the whaling industry. This was both to organize amongst the, at the time, disparate families ships who were coalescing under the Pikes, each with their own practices and traditions. The Pikes set about finding the most efficient of these traditions and recording them, as well as testing their own innovations. Today, with the removal of the Pikes to Pike's Park, the
Lances are in charge of updating the Manual for modern whaling.
Content
The Pike Manual of Practice begins with a brief overview of the history of the
the Promenade's Whaling Industry, specifically a semi-mythical description of the Pike & Sons Company's rise. Practical whaling advice is then divided up into two sections, recommended tips and mandatory practices.
"After the carcass is suspended in the air by a crane, tie it to the deck by its tail, and begin flaying in sections of two to three feet. For Clawed Whales and larger, use crampons." - Pike Manual of Practice
Firstly are the accumulated advice of generations of whalers, found by the Lances to be worth including. While not all of these pieces of advice are up-to-date, as they do not remove ones from older periods, they provide a snapshot of the development of whaling.
In the final section are required procedures divided up by type, such as flensing or working trypots. These include the appropriate tools for use, safety procedures, and measurements for product. This portion of the book is generally produced on its own, for carrying by members of the industry, produced courtesy of the
Longshoremen's Guild.
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