Healthcare investment banker James Ahern is a managing partner and head of capital markets for Laidlaw & Company, a full service investment banking and brokerage firm. At Laidlaw & Company, James (Jim) Ahern provides advisory services and raises capital for public and private companies in the healthcare sector. In nice weather, Jimmy Ahern enjoys taking boating trips to Nantucket.
With its pristine beaches and historic lighthouses, the island of Nantucket is a well-known tourist destination. Located 30 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, visitors to Nantucket can explore bike and hiking trails, art galleries, museums, and abundant restaurants and shops.
Prior to becoming a noteworthy summer destination, Nantucket was recognized as the whaling capital of the world. Founded in 1641, the main industries on the island were originally focused on farming and raising sheep. During the 1670s, the island’s residents began hunting whales and hired whaling expert Ichabod Paddock to teach them the trade.
At first, the whalers of Nantucket hunted the right whale, a species that returned to the area every autumn. The whale’s oil, baleen, and bones were sold around the world. In the early 1700s whalers discovered by chance that sperm whales, with larger quantities of better quality oil, could be hunted further off the coast. Over the course of the next century, whalers from Nantucket focused exclusively on the sperm whale.
The vast majority of Nantucket’s economy was supported by the whaling industry. Some locals chose to become sailors, a dangerous profession that took them far from home for long periods of time. Others supported the industry by working in ropewalks, candle factories, chandleries, boat building factories, shops, sail lofts, and warehouses.
As a result of the Civil War and kerosene gradually replacing whale oil in lamps, whaling slowly declined as an industry. As Nantucket’s economy declined, resilient residents were eventually able to switch gears to the lucrative tourism industry. They built cottages and summer hotels and advertised in newspapers in large cities. Over time, Nantucket was reshaped into a premier tourist destination that continues to draw people from all over the world.
With its pristine beaches and historic lighthouses, the island of Nantucket is a well-known tourist destination. Located 30 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, visitors to Nantucket can explore bike and hiking trails, art galleries, museums, and abundant restaurants and shops.
Prior to becoming a noteworthy summer destination, Nantucket was recognized as the whaling capital of the world. Founded in 1641, the main industries on the island were originally focused on farming and raising sheep. During the 1670s, the island’s residents began hunting whales and hired whaling expert Ichabod Paddock to teach them the trade.
At first, the whalers of Nantucket hunted the right whale, a species that returned to the area every autumn. The whale’s oil, baleen, and bones were sold around the world. In the early 1700s whalers discovered by chance that sperm whales, with larger quantities of better quality oil, could be hunted further off the coast. Over the course of the next century, whalers from Nantucket focused exclusively on the sperm whale.
The vast majority of Nantucket’s economy was supported by the whaling industry. Some locals chose to become sailors, a dangerous profession that took them far from home for long periods of time. Others supported the industry by working in ropewalks, candle factories, chandleries, boat building factories, shops, sail lofts, and warehouses.
As a result of the Civil War and kerosene gradually replacing whale oil in lamps, whaling slowly declined as an industry. As Nantucket’s economy declined, resilient residents were eventually able to switch gears to the lucrative tourism industry. They built cottages and summer hotels and advertised in newspapers in large cities. Over time, Nantucket was reshaped into a premier tourist destination that continues to draw people from all over the world.
