In the Heart of the Sea is based on the sinking of the American whaling ship Essex in 1820. In the winter of 1820, the New England whaling ship Essex was assaulted by something no one could believe: a whale of mammoth size and strength attacks with force, crippling their ship and leaving them adrift in the ocean. During their voyage, the ship is sunk when it is rammed and split in half by a very large and enraged bull sperm whale, ultimately leaving its crew shipwrecked at sea for 90 days and more than a thousand miles from land.