| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Builder: | Westerdell & Barnes, Hull [1] |
| Launched: | 18 November 1807 [1] |
| Fate: | Foundered 11 November 1844 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 306, [2] [1] or 309, or 315, or 316 (bm) |
| Complement: | 50 [2] |
| Armament: |
|
Cato was a merchant vessel launched at Kingston upon Hull in 1807. She was a West Indiaman, a transport ship, and traded across the Atlantic between England and North America. She foundered in November 1841.
Cato first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1808. [3]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1808 | Orton Hossack | Staniforth | London–West Indies London–Hayti | LR |
Captain John Hossack acquired a letter of marque on 6 December 1808. [2]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1810 | Archer | Staniforth | London–St Thomas | LR |
| 1815 | R. Morton | Pizzie & Co. | London–Antigua | LR |
| 1820 | R. Morton | Pizzie & Co. | London–Antigua | LR; large repair 1818 |
| 1825 | W.Sadler | J.Rowe | Cork transport | LR; large repair 1818 & thorough repair 1823 |
A gale on 13 January 1828 drove the transport ship Cato, and several other vessels, ashore in Mountbatten Bay. The initial report was that her rudder had been unshipped and that her keel was much damaged, but that it was expected that she would be refloated. [4]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1830 | R.Moon C.Crawford | Sope & Co. | Cork | LR; damages repaired 1828 |
| 1835 | Crossman | Pope | Plymouth–America | LR; large repair 1835 |
Lloyd's List reported on 22 December 1835 that Cato had arrived at Liverpool from Quebec in a much damaged state.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1840 | J.Taylor | Pope | Plymouth–America | LR; large repair 1835, damages repaired 1836, and small repairs 1841 |
| 1844 | J.Taylor | Pope | Plymouth–Quebec | LR; large repair 1835, damages repaired 1836, and small repairs 1841 |
On 11 November 1844 her crew, who were rescued, abandoned Cato600 nautical miles (1,100 km) west south west of the Isles of Scilly. She had become waterlogged as she sailed from Quebec City, to Plymouth. [5] Her entry in LR bears the annotation "Abandoned". [6]
Citations
References
Lotus was a ship launched at Whitby, England in 1826. She made several voyages to Australia carrying emigrants. She made one voyage transporting convicts to Van Diemen's Land. On that voyage, in 1833, she rescued 61 survivors from Hibernia, which a fire had destroyed in the South Atlantic as Hibenia was carrying immigrants to Van Diemen's Land. Lotus herself was lost in May 1844 while sailing between Bristol and Quebec.
Shipley was launched in 1805 at Whitby. A privateer captured Shipley in 1806 on what was probably her maiden voyage, but the British Royal Navy recaptured her. Between 1817 and 1823, she made four voyages transporting convicts to New South Wales. The ship was wrecked in 1826.
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.
Alligator was launched in 1793 at London. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). She then became a general trader crossing the Atlantic. She was wrecked in 1820.
Orpheus was launched at Chester in 1794. She made two voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She also served briefly as a transport in two military campaigns, and traded with the West and East Indies. She was last listed in 1838 but may well have been sold for breaking up in 1828.
Indian Trader was launched in 1791. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). She was on her second voyage when a French privateer captured her. The British recaptured her and she returned to merchant service, sailing to the Americas. She was lost c.1830.
Minerva was launched at Lancaster, Lancashire, in 1805. Following trading with Central and South America, she made two voyages under charter to the British East India Company (EIC) between 1811 and 1814. She also made four voyages transporting convicts to Australia between 1818 and 1824, one to Van Diemen's Land and three voyages to New South Wales. She was broken up in 1826.
Crown was launched at Newcastle upon Tyne in 1793. She essentially sailed as a West Indiaman, but between 1797 and 1799 she made one voyage as an "extra ship", i.e., under charter, for the British East India Company (EIC). She foundered in 1810 on a voyage to Canada.
Andersons was launched at Poole in 1798. She then made seven voyages as a slave ship. After the end of the British slave trade in 1807 her owners sold her to new owners who employed her as a West Indiaman. By 1810 she was registered in Whitby. She then served as a general merchant vessel until she was wrecked in 1823.
Agincourt was a merchant vessel launched at North Shields in 1804. She was a transport and later sailed between Britain and Quebec. Her crew abandoned her at sea in 1821.
Sarah was launched at Bristol as a West Indiaman. From 1818, after repairs to damage from a fire in 1817, she sailed as an East Indiaman until she wrecked at the Cape of Good Hope in 1822.
Chiswick was built at Batavia in the Netherlands East Indies for Dutch owners but quickly fell into British hands. She became a West Indiaman. The French captured her in 1804 but she quickly returned to British hands. She was wrecked at Aux Cayes in 1808.
City of Edinburgh was built at Quebec in 1803. She sailed to England and from 1804 to 1820 was a West Indiaman and general trader. She sustained damages in maritime incidents in 1805 and 1820, and was last listed in 1821.
Lord Wellington was launched in 1811 in Montreal. She became a London-based transport that made one voyage to India in 1819 under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). Afterwards she continued to sail to the Baltic and North America. She was last listed in 1829.
Eddystone was launched at Hull in 1802. She then sailed for the North West Company. The French Navy captured her in 1806 but an armed ship of the Royal Navy recaptured her within weeks. She next sailed for the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) from 1807 to about 1824. She then traded generally until May 1843 when she was wrecked.
Diana was launched in 1799 as a West Indiaman. From 1805 she made four voyages as an East Indiaman under charter to the British East India Company. She made a fifth voyage to India in 1817 under a license from the EIC. She ran into difficulties in the Hooghly River while homeward bound and was condemned in Bengal in June 1818.
Sir Edward Hamilton was a merchant ship launched at Rotherhithe in 1800. The British East India Company (EIC) chartered her in 1800 to bring rice from Bengal. She then proceeded to sail as a West Indiaman and later across the Atlantic, finally to the Baltic. She grounded in December 1853 and was so damaged that apparently she never sailed again.
Clarendon was built in 1807 at Whitehaven. Between 1808 or so and 1813 she sailed as a West Indiaman between London and Jamaica. In 1814 she sailed for Batavia under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). The privateer Young Wasp captured Clarendon off the Cape of Good Hope, on 6 January 1815, and she arrived at Baltimore on 15 April.
Harriet was launched at Pictou, Nova Scotia, in 1798. She was the first large ship built in Nova Scotia and was sold in London. She traded widely from London, primarily to North America. She foundered on 3 November 1818.
Cyrus was launched in 1811 in Whitby. She spent her early career as a transport. Then after the war she made one or more voyages to Bengal and Ceylon under a license from the British East India Company. After her return she traded between Great Britain and North America. She was wrecked at Quebec in November 1844.