Adventure (1804 ship)

For other ships with the same name, see Adventure (ship).

History
France
Captured	1803 [1]
United Kingdom
Name	Adventure
Acquired	1804 by purchase of a prize
Fate	Wrecked 28 April 1808
General characteristics
Tons burthen	294 [1] (bm)
Length	97 ft 6 in (29.7 m) [2]
Beam	26 ft 7 in (8.1 m) [2]
Armament	12 × 6-pounder guns [1]
Notes	Two decks and three masts

Adventure was a French privateer captured in 1803. She became a whaler that made two voyages to the Southern Whale Fishery. She was wrecked in April 1808 as she set out on her third.

Capture

On 2 October 1803 HMS Acasta captured the French privateer Adventure. Adventure was out of Bordeaux and carried 20 guns and a crew of 144 men. Acasta pursued her in the mid-Atlantic for 45 hours, finally bringing her to action and capturing her. ^[3] Acasta also recaptured two prizes, Royal Edward and St. Mary's Planter, that Adventure had taken from the Jamaican convoy and whose captains were aboard Adventure. ^[4] When Acasta intercepted Adventure, she had been about to take possession of Jane, before going after a fourth ship of the convoy. ^[3] Acasta sent Venturé, Royal Edward, and St. Mary's Planter into Plymouth. ^[5]

Whaler

The London-based shipowner Daniel Bennett purchased a French prize that Acasta had captured, ^[2] and renamed her Adventure. At the time Bennett was the most important ship-owner in the Fishery and had some 17 vessels out whale hunting. ^[6]

See also: List of ships owned by Daniel Bennett & Son

Adventure first appeared in the Register of Shipping for 1805 with J. Page, master, Bennett, owner, and trade London–Southern Fishery. ^[1]

1st whaling voyage (1804-1806): Captain John Page (or Paget) sailed from England on 3 September 1804, bound for Peru. Adventure was at Easter Island at some point in 1805 and may have brought a young Easter Islander to England when she returned on 28 April 1806. ^[7]

2nd whaling voyage (1806-1808): Captain Page sailed on 20 June 1806, bound for Delagoa Bay. A report on 15 January 1808 stated that Adventure was at Delagoa Bay on 1 August 1807, but that Page had died. Captain William Parker (or Barker) returned to England on 6 March 1808. ^[7]

Fate

Captain William Parker sailed in April 1808. Lloyd's List reported on 3 May 1808 that Adventure, Parker, master, had become a total loss on 28 April 1808 on the North Sand Head, near Deal, Kent, while sailing from London for the South Seas. The pilot and one crewman had drowned. ^[8] Adventure drifted off and had been towed on shore near Margate. ^[9]

Citations

1. Register of Shipping (1805), Seq.№A219.
2. Stanbury et al. 2015, App. 7
3. "No. 15654". The London Gazette . 8 December 1803. p. 1725.
4. "No. 15632". The London Gazette . 18 October 1803. p. 1439.
5. Lloyd's List №4395.
6. Clayton (2014), p. 18.
7. British Southern Whale Fishery Database − Voyages:Adventure.
8. Lloyd's List №4249.
9. Lloyd's List №4250.

References

• Clayton, Jane M (2014). Ships employed in the South Sea Whale Fishery from Britain: 1775–1815: An alphabetical list of ships. Berforts Group. ISBN   9781908616524.
• Stanbury, Myra; Henderson, Kandy-Jane; Derrien, Bernard; Bigourdan, Nicolas; Le Touze, Evelyne (2015). "Chapter 18: Epilogue". In Stanbury, Myra (ed.). The Mermaid Atoll Shipwreck: A Mysterious Early 19th-century Loss. Fremantle, WA: Australian National Centre of Excellence for Maritime Archaeology and the Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology. pp. 235–290. ISBN   9781876465094.