Alcyone (1810 ship)

Last updated

History
Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
BuilderThomas Steemson, Paull, Hull,
Launched18 August 1810
FateLast listed 1847.
General characteristics [1]
Tons burthen383, or 391, or 392 (bm)
Length108 ft 5 in (33.0 m)
Beam29 ft 1 in (8.9 m)
Armament4 × 9-pounder guns + 8 × 18-pounder carronades

Alcyone (or Alcione) was launched in 1810 at Kingston-on-Hull. She spent her career as a merchantman sailing across the Atlantic. She suffered a major grounding in 1824. Circa 1827 Alcyone sailed to India under a licence from the British East India Company (EIC). After her one voyage to India, Alcyone traded to the Baltic and to North and Central America. In 1844–1845 she participated in the guano rush at Ichaboe Island. She was last listed in 1847.

Contents

Career

Alcyone was first listed in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1810. [2]

YearMasterOwnerTradeSource
1810VollansRead & Co.Hull–Rio de JaneiroLR
1812J.Vollans
Simpson		Read & Co.Hull–Rio de Janeiro
London–Jamaica		LR
1815Simpson
E.Davis		Read & Co.London–JamaicaLR
1816Simpson
E.Davis
Shakespeare		Read & Co.London–JamaicaLR
1818Shakespeare
J.Ranking		Read & Co.London–JamaicaLR
1819J.Rankin
Chapman		Read & Co.Plymouth–West Indies
London–Quebec		LR
1823ChapmanStanes & Co.Liverpool–New Brunswick'"LR
1824Chapman
T.Mever (Muir?)		Stanes & Co.
W.Reed		Liverpool–Mrimk (Miramichi?)LR
1825T.MeverReed & Co.Liverpool–New BrunswickLR

A report from Liverpool stated that on 25 December 1824 a hurricane from the west drove Alcyone aground as she was coming from St Johns, New Brunswick. Her stern post broke and she filled with water. The weather was shocking, but it was hoped that it would be possible to remove the timber she was carrying between decks. It was expected that in spring every endeavor would be made to get her off. [3] Alcyone was refloated on 7 January 1825 and taken in to Hoylake, Lancashire. [4]

YearMasterOwnerTradeSource & notes
1826T.MureReed & Co.Liverpool–Leghorn
Liverpool–"Mhimck"		LR; damages and thorough repair 1824 [lower-alpha 1]
1828T.MureReice & Co.Liverpool–NewryLR; damages and thorough repair 1824; small repairs 1827 [lower-alpha 2]

In 1813 the EIC had lost its monopoly on the trade between India and Britain. British ships were then free to sail to India or the Indian Ocean under a licence from the EIC. [6]

YearMasterOwnerTradeSource & notes
1829T.MureReice & Co.Liverpool–Bombay [7] LR; damages and thorough repair 1824; small repairs 1827
1830T.MureReide & Co.Liverpool–PetersburgLR; thorough repair 1824 & small repairs 1827
1833T.MureReice & Co.LondonLR; damages and thorough repair 1824; small repairs 1827
1836T.MuirReid & Co.Liverpool–Savannah
Liverpool–Darien		LR; small repairs 1836 and damages repaired 1837
1840T.Muir
W.Gales		Reid & Co.Liverpool–Darien
Liverpool–Quebec		LR; small repairs 1836, & damages repaired 1837 & 1840
1841W.GalesReid & Co.Liverpool–Quebec
Liverpool		LR; small repairs 1836 & 1842, & damages repaired 1837 & 1840
1845StorrHudson & Co.Liverpool–Ichebo LR; small repairs 1836 & 1842, & damages repaired 1837 & 1840

Alcyone was at Ichaboe to participate in the guano "gold rush". In the early 1840s the Peruvian government had raised its royalty demands on Peruvian guano, the main source of the fertilizer for the United Kingdom. Andrew Livingstone, was a retired master-mariner, living in Liverpool, where he had a school of navigation. In 1842 he read an account published in New York in 1832, by Benjamin Morrell, an American sealing captain, who wrote about having landed at Ichaboe in 1828 and seen massive deposits of guano. Livingstone was eventually able to convince some Liverpool investors to send out a small exploration expedition of three vessels. [8] By 1844 286 British vessels had visited Ichaboe, and in 1845 679 vessels. [9] The guano deposits were quickly exhausted and interest briefly shifted to smaller deposits of lower quality on Malagas Island in Saldanha Bay. [10]

Alcyone, Storr, master, was reported on 10 March 1845 to be at Table Bay. She had left Ichaboe 20 February and sailed on to Saldanha Bay on 14 March. [11]

Career

Alcyone was last listed in 1847.

Notes

  1. ↑ The volume of the Register of Shipping (RS) for 1826 gave the name of Alcyone's owner as Haines, and noted that she had had damages repaired in 1825.
  2. ↑ From 1828 on the Register of Shipping showed Alcyone having been almost rebuilt in 1825. [5]

Citations

  1. ↑ Hackman (2001), p. 249.
  2. ↑ LR (1810), Supple. pages Seq.No.A43.
  3. ↑ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 5973. 31 December 1824. hdl:2027/hvd.32044105226302.
  4. ↑ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 5976. 11 January 1825. hdl:2027/mdp.39015073721246.
  5. ↑ RS (1828), Seq.No.A358.
  6. ↑ Hackman (2001), p. 247.
  7. ↑ Register of Shipping (1829), "Licensed Ships".
  8. ↑ Craig (1964), pp. 27–28.
  9. ↑ Craig (1964), pp. 54.
  10. ↑ Craig (1964), pp. 46.
  11. ↑ Van de sandt (1846).

Related Research Articles

Asia was a merchant ship built by A. Hall & Company at Aberdeen in 1818. She made eight voyages between 1820 and 1836 transporting convicts from Britain to Australia. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1826 and 1827. At the same time she served in private trade to India as a licensed ship. She also carried assisted emigrants to Australia. She was last listed in 1845.

Andromeda was built in Sunderland, England in 1819. Initially she made one voyage to India, sailing under a licence from the British East India Company. She then started sailing to Australia, carrying voluntary and involuntary migrants. She made four voyages transporting convicts: one voyage to Van Diemen's Land and three to New South Wales. She continue to trade, primarily to Australia. Her last voyage was to Ichaboe Island. She was last listed in 1847.

Mariner was launched at Whitby in 1807, and registered in London. Her notability comes from her having made three voyages transporting convicts to New South Wales between 1816 and 1827. She continued trading until 1857.

Ocean was launched in 1802 at Quebec. She made five voyages under charter to the British East India Company (EIC) between 1804 and 1814. Her owners then sold her and she continued to sail between Britain and India under a license issued by the EIC. In 1815–1816 she made one voyage transporting convicts to Australia. She was last listed in 1825.

Tuscan was built at Hull in 1793. She reportedly made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). A French privateer captured her in 1798, but she returned to British hands c.1805. She was wrecked at Memel in November 1823.

Hyperion was launched in 1814 at Sunderland. She sailed to the Baltic, and then India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). In 1820 the EIC chartered her for a voyage for them to India. On her return she traded with Canada until her crew had to abandon her in 1824 in the Atlantic.

Cumberland was launched in 1800 and sailed as a West Indiaman until 1807 or 1808 when she was sold to Enderbys. She then made five voyages as a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. Enderbys sold Cumberland and she proceeded to sail between England and Australia. In 1827 she sailed from Hobart and was never seen again. It later transpired that pirates had captured her off the Falkland Islands and killed her crew and passengers.

Boyne was launched at Calcutta in 1807. In 1809 she sailed to England. She was sold to the Danes, but by 1811 was under English ownership under the name Moffat. She then made seven voyages as a "regular ship" for the British East India Company (EIC). After the EIC exited its maritime activities in 1833–34, Moffat made four voyages transporting convicts to Australia: one voyage to Port Jackson and three to Van Diemen's Land. She also made at least one voyage carrying immigrants to South Australia, and later regularly traded between Liverpool and Bombay. She was last listed in 1856.

Cornwall was launched in 1794 as a West Indiaman. In a little more than three years later she had left on the first of three whaling voyages to the Southern Whale Fishery. On her first whaling voyage she captured a Spanish ship and fought off a French privateer. After her third whaling voyage Cornwall returned to the West Indies trade. Around 1817 new owners sent her to India where a Parsi merchant purchased her. She traded in the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, and also participated as a transport in a naval expedition to the Persian Gulf. She was last listed in 1824.

Aurora was launched in 1790 at Calcutta. The first 10 years of her career are currently obscure. In 1801 she made a voyage to England for the British East India Company (EIC), and then was briefly registered in England. She returned to India to continue to sail as a "country ship" until she was sold to Portuguese or Spanish owners in 1811. She returned to British ownership circa 1816 and made a second voyage for the EIC, this time from China to England. She returned to English registry and made one voyage to India under a license from the EIC. She then switched to sailing between Liverpool and Quebec and was lost in the Atlantic around 1822.

Barrosa was launched in 1811 at Cossipore. She sailed to England and then made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC); during this period she also made one voyage carrying immigrants to South Africa. After the EIC gave up its maritime activities in 1833-1834, Barossa became a transport. She made three voyages transporting convicts to Australia. She was lost in 1847, without loss of life, while transporting contract labourers from Madras to Jamaica.

Blucher was launched in 1814 at Sunderland. She mostly sailed across the Atlantic to South and North America though she may have made a voyage to Calcutta under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She was wrecked in 1824.

Actaeon was launched at Topsham, Devon in 1815. She traded widely and from 1823 she made some voyages to Bombay under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She then traded with what is now Peru, and was probably condemned in what is now Chile in 1828.

Tamerlane was launched in New Brunswick in 1824. She transferred her registry to Liverpool. She sailed between Scotland and Canada and then in 1828 sailed to India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). After two voyages to India she returned to trading in the Western hemisphere. Her crew abandoned her in the Channel on 26 February 1848.

Havik was built in Batavia in 1808 or 1809. The Dutch government purchased her and had her fitted out in 1809; she then sailed for North America. The British Royal Navy captured her in 1810. She then sailed to Britain where new owners named her Peter Proctor, after the British officer who captured her. She then traded widely and was last listed in 1845. She brought the first group of coolies from India to Australia in 1837.

Prince of Orange was launched in Sunderland in 1814. She originally sailed as a West Indiaman but then became an East Indiaman, sailing to India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She made two voyages transporting convicts to Australia, the first in 1820–1821 to New South Wales, and the second in 1822 to Van Diemen's Land. Between 1830 and 1840 she made nine voyages as a whaler to Davis Strait. She was lengthened and rebuilt in 1846. In December 1852 she grounded and it took some months to get her off. She then need major repairs. She also suffered damages in 1854. She foundered in 1858.

Westmoreland was a ship launched at Hull in 1817. She sailed to India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). Next, she sailed to Australia with passengers. From Sydney she visited New Zealand, Tahiti, and Valparaiso, before returning to England. She then traded widely, to Russia, North America, West Africa, and India again. She was condemned at Saint Helena on 29 October 1845 as she was returning from the coast of Africa.

Kent was launched at Chittagong in 1814. Between 1814 and 1823 Kent sailed between India and Great Britain under a licence from the British East India Company (EIC). In 1823 she was sold in England. From then until she was last listed in 1831 she sailed between Liverpool and Africa.

Alcyone, was launched in France in 1810 and under another name. She was taken in prize. Waters & Co. purchased her in 1814 and renamed her. She initially sailed to Asia and India under a licence from the British East India Company, and was the first vessel to formally to receive such a licence. She then sailed between London and the Cape of Good Hope. She was last listed in 1824.

Several vessels have been named Alcyone :

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.