HMS Sealark (1806)
| History | |
|---|---|
 UK | |
| Name: | HMS Sealark |
| Ordered: | 11 December 1805 |
| Builder: | William Wheaton, Brixham |
| Laid down: | February 1806 |
| Launched: | 1 August 1806 |
| Fate: | Foundered 18 June 1809 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class and type: | Cuckoo-class schooner |
| Tonnage: | 75 68⁄94 (bm) |
| Length: |
|
| Beam: | 18 ft 4 in (5.6 m) |
| Draught: |
|
| Depth of hold: | 8 ft 6 in (2.6 m) |
| Sail plan: | Schooner |
| Complement: | 20 |
| Armament: | 4 x 12-pounder carronades |
HMS Sealark was a Royal Navy Cuckoo-class schooner of four 12-pounder carronades and a crew of 20. She was built by William Wheaton at Brixham and launched in 1806.[1] Like many of her class and the related Ballahoo-class schooners, she succumbed to the perils of the sea relatively early in her career.
Service
She was commissioned in October 1806 under Lieutenant Thomas Banks for the North Sea. Sealark was at the surrender of the Danish Fleet after the Battle of Copenhagen on 7 September. The prize money amounted to £3 8s for an ordinary seaman, or slightly over two months wages.[2] In 1809 she came under the command of Lieutenant James Procter.[1]
Fate
On 18 June 1809 she was sailing in company with Blake in the North Sea.[3] A heavy sea swamped her and she sank immediately. Only one member of her crew survived.[4] On 29 June 1809 The Times printed the following: "The Sealark schooner has been upset on the coast of Holland and all hands on board, excepting one man, unfortunately perished."[5]
Citations
- 1 2 3 Winfield (2008), p.361.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 16275. p. 1103. 11 July 1809.
- ↑ Gossett (1986), p.72.
- ↑ Hepper (1994), p.129.
- ↑ Grocott (1997), p.279.
References
- Gossett, William Patrick (1986) The lost ships of the Royal Navy, 1793-1900. (London:Mansell). ISBN 0-7201-1816-6
- Grocott, Terence (1997) Shipwrecks of the revolutionary & Napoleonic eras (Chatham). ISBN 1-86176-030-2
- Hepper, David J. (1994) British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650-1859. (Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot). ISBN 0-948864-30-3
- Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1-86176-246-1.