Five whalers stop at Okat during the year, three in harbor at once.

What happened

Whaling at Kosrae grew in the 1830s and flourished in the 1840s; at one point in 1842 three whalers, two American and one Canadian, lay in Okat harbor together. Hezel says ships liked Kosrae partly because they could deal directly with the chief, who raised livestock and food for trade, without white middlemen.