Harpooner (1830 ship)

Last updated

Whaler Harpooner (c.1830) science-museum.jpg
Whaler Harpooner (c.1830); Science Museum, London; unknown artist
History
Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
Name Harpooner
Owner
  • 1830: Green, Wigram's & Green
  • 1849 (31 October): Samuel Henry Wright, London
  • 1849: Lewis Morice
BuilderGreen, Wigram's & Green, Blackwall Yard
Launched26 July 1830
FateWrecked August 1856
General characteristics [1]
Tons burthen398, [2] or 405, or 40520⁄94 (bm)
Length114 ft 6 in (34.9 m)
Beam27 ft 11 in (8.5 m)
Sail plan Barque
Complement32

Harpooner was a barque launched in London in 1830 by Green, Wigram's & Green, at Blackwall. Between 1830 and 1848 she made four voyages to the British southern whale fishery as a whaler. Her voyages resulted in two precedent-setting court cases. The Hudson's Bay Company chartered her from 1848 to 1850 to carry labourers for the settlement on Vancouver Island. In August 1856, she was sailing from Amoy to Ningbo, China when she struck a sunken rock near Ningbo, and was damaged. She was consequently condemned.

Contents

Whaler

Harpooner first entered Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1830. [3]

YearMasterOwnerTradeSource
1830ClarkGreen&Co.London–South SeasLR

1st whaling voyage (1830–1833): Captain John Clark sailed from London on 18 November 1830, bound for the Seychelles. He returned on 6 April 1833 with 550 casks of whale oil. [2]

This voyage resulted in a court case involving oil-merchants refusing to pay for whale oil they had contracted for. On 4 November 1831, Messrs. Field & Thompson engaged with Wigram and Green to purchase half of Harpooner's oil at £68 per ton on her return. Then Field & Thompson on 5 April 1832 contracted for the other half of her cargo at a price of £63 per ton. When Harpooner arrived back at London she had 254 tons 96 gallons of whale oil on board. At the contracted price the cargo was worth £16,661 7s 10d. However, the market price on the day Wigram & Green tendered the oil to Field & Thompson was £51 10s per ton, for a discrepancy of £3,472 1s 3d between the contracted price and the prevailing market price. Field & Thompson refused to honour their contract and declared bankruptcy. The court ultimately decided for the defendants on the basis that the discrepancy represented damages that would have to be litigated in court. [4]

2nd whaling voyage (1833–1836): Captain John Clark sailed from London on 24 September 1833, bound for the Indian Ocean and Timor. He died early in the voyage. Captain Howard returned on 6 December 1836 with 500 casks and four tanks of whale oil. [2]

3rd whaling voyage (1831–1841): Captain Abijah Lock sailed from London on 24 May 1837, bound for Tahiti. At various times Harpooner was reported at Paita, the Galapagos, Talcahuano, and Sydney. She was plagued by desertions, with Captain Lock having had to replenish his crew on several occasions during the course of the 46 months of her voyage. She returned to England on 16 February 1841 with 450 casks of oil, not all of it the higher-value sperm oil. [2]

Harpooner sat in port for some 14 months before sailing on her fourth whaling voyage. [2]

4th whaling voyage (1842–1848): Captain Debney sailed from London on 4 April 1842, bound for Timor. In early 1845 a hurricane damaged Harpooner while she was south of the Solomon Islands. Harpooner lost her mizzen mast and main topmast, sprung her foremast, and lost or damaged all of her boats. She arrived at Sydney on 9 February. While she was undergoing repairs Debney transshipped on a merchant vessel going to London the 1200 barrels of oil Harpooner had gathered. Harpooner sailed on 4 June and by early August she was in New Hebridean waters. In late 1845 she as was at the Bay of Islands, where a number of the crew deserted. Debney had to return to Sydney to recruit more crew. Harpooner was at Hobart in late October 1846 with a cargo of 1350 barrels of sperm oil. In Hobart Debney sought a cargo of freight to carry back to London with the oil. The vessel sailed for London on 14 December 1846, stopping at Adelaide in late December 1846. [2]

In Adelaide, Debney took on more freight, but Harpooner not sail until 18 March 1847, under the command of a new master named Papps. But within days she was forced to seek a sheltered port to recaulk her topsides. She arrived in Sydney on 25 April 1847, for further repairs. She took on 24 passengers and sailed, but had to return 10 days later, leaky. A survey resulted in Harpooner transshipping part of her cargo to enable the vessel to ride higher in the water. Harpooner finally sailed for England, arriving at Swansea on 3 February 1848. A gale drove Harpooner out to sea but did little damage. Harpooner finally sailed for London on 11 February 1848 and arrived on 21 February. [2]

By the time Harpooner returned, the partnership of Green, Wigram's & Green had been wound up. Harpooner was sold.

In Adelaide, Harpooner had taken on board 500 tons of copper ore to be conveyed to Swansea. When she required repairs, the cost of the repairs exceeded her value. Wigrams sought to assign the cost of repairing her for the sake of completing the voyage to the owners of the cargo under a claim of General Average. The court found against Wigrams. [5]

Hudson's Bay Company

YearMasterOwnerTradeSource
1849L[ewis] MoriceL.MoriceLondon–ColumbiaLR

In December 1848 the Hudson's Bay Company chartered Harpooner to carry labourers for the settlement on Vancouver Island. She arrived on 31 May 1849 in Victoria, British Columbia with the labourers, miners, carpenters, bakers, and others, including eight settlers that Captain John Marshall Grant had recruited. [6]

Harpooner then sailed to Fort Vancouver and the Sandwich Islands. In August 1850 she left for Fort Rupert. [7] On 10 November Harpooner arrived at Gravesend from Callao.

YearMasterOwnerTradeSource & notes
1851L.MoriceL.MoriceLondonLR; large repair 1848 & small repairs 1850

Unfortunately, Morice did not keep Harpooner's entry in LR up-to-date.

In 1852 Harpooner visited British Columbia for a second time. [6] She ran into difficulties while she was in the Sandwich Islands. USS Vandalia provided assistance. [8] Harpooner had been sailing from Callao to Canton when she ran on shore near Honolulu. She put into Honolulu on 16 February. [9]

In 1853 Harpooner was reported sailing from Singapore to Mauritius. From Mauritius she sailed on to London. In 1854 she sailed from London for the Cape of good Hope and Madras.

Fate

In August 1856 Harpooner was sailing from Amoy to Ningbo when she struck a sunken rock near Ningbo, and was damaged. She was consequently condemned. [10]

Citations

  1. ↑ Green, Wigram's & Green - Historic Shipping: Harpooner.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "British Southern Whale Fishery database – Voyages: Harpooner".
  3. ↑ LR (1830),Supple. pages "H", Seq.No.H84.
  4. ↑ The Law Journal Reports (1838), Volume 7, pp.271–274, location=1838.
  5. ↑ "Hallett and Others vs. Wigram and Others", Law Times (11 May 1850), location=371, pp.137–138.
  6. 1 2 Hunter (2006), pp. 18–24.
  7. ↑ Archives of Manitoba - Hudson’s Bay Company Archives – Ships’ Histories: Harpooner.
  8. ↑ "Sandwich Islands". (4 June 1852), Cleveland Daily Herald (Cleveland, OH, United States), Volume 18, Issue: 133.
  9. ↑ "Ship News". The Times (London, England), 19 May 1852, Issue 21119, p. 8
  10. ↑ "Ship News". The Times. No. 22513. London. 31 October 1856. col F, p. 9.

Related Research Articles

HMS <i>Rover</i> (1808) Brig-sloop of the Royal Navy

HMS Rover was a Royal Navy Cruizer-class brig-sloop laid down in 1804 but not launched until 1808. She served in the North Sea, off the north coast of Spain, in the Channel, and on the North American station. She captured two letters-of-marque and numerous merchant vessels before being laid-up in 1815. She then sat unused until she was sold in 1828. She became a whaler that made four voyages to the British southern whale fishery between 1830 and 1848. She was last listed in 1848.

HMS Foxhound was the French Navy's brig Basque, launched in 1809, that the British Royal Navy captured in 1809 and took into service as a 16-gun sloop. She had a relatively brief naval career in which she captured a number of merchant vessels. After the Navy sold her in 1816, she made some 10 or 11 whaling voyages between 1817 and 1848.

<i>Amelia Wilson</i> (1809 ship)

Amelia Wilson was built in France under another name and captured by the British in 1809. Her new owners renamed her and she became a West Indiaman. She later became a whaler and was wrecked in 1833 on her fifth whaling voyage.

Emma was a merchant vessel launched at Calcutta in 1809 that in 1810 served as a government armed ship in the British invasion of Île de France. In 1811 she sailed to England where she was sold. She then became a transport and later a whaler. Between 1815 and 1853 she made 11 whaling voyages. She was then sold and became a merchantman on the England-Australia run. Between 1851 and 1853 she made one more whaling voyage to the South Seas fisheries. She then returned to the England-Australia trade. In 1857 her home port became Hull, and she became a Greenland whaler, though that role may have begun as early as 1855. She was converted in 1864 to a screw steamer but was lost in April while seal hunting.

Cadmus was launched in 1813 at Sunderland. She traded with the East Indies under license from the British East India Company (EIC) until 1827. Then between 1827 and 1834 she made two voyages as a whaler. She was lost in 1835.

Several ships have been named Harpooner:

<i>Jane</i> (1818 ship)

Jane was an American vessel launched in 1810 or 1812 and taken in prize, first appearing in British registers in 1818. She then became a whaler. Under the command of Captain James Weddell she explored the area around the South Shetland Islands and in 1823 reached the southernmost point ever reached until then. From about 1825 on she traded generally as a merchantman until she was condemned in 1829.

Partridge was built at Antwerp in 1813, under another name, and was taken in prize. From 1814 she was under British ownership. Between 1814 and 1822 she traded with India, sailing under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She then became a whaler, making three voyages to the British southern whale fishery before she was broken up in 1834.

Comet was launched in 1791 at Rotherhithe. At the outbreak of war with France, she briefly became a privateer before the British East India Company (EIC) chartered her for one voyage to bring back sugar, saltpeter, and other goods from Bengal. Between 1812 and 1821 she made three voyages as a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. Then between 1823 and 1840 she became a whaler based in Hull, whaling in the northern whale fishery. She returned to trade in 1841 and was lost on 1 December 1843 homeward bound from Quebec.

L'Aigle was launched in France in 1801, 1802, or 1803. The British Royal Navy captured her in 1809. From 1810 to 1817, she was a West Indiaman. From 1817 L'Aigle made four complete voyages as a whaler in the British Southern Whale fishery. On her third whaling voyage, she carried King Kamehameha II of Hawaii and Queen Kamāmalu with a number of their retainers and Hawaiian notables to England. She was lost on 6 March 1830 on her fifth whaling voyage.

Sir Charles Price was launched in America in 1812 under another name. The British captured her c.1814 and Daniel Bennett purchased her and added her to his fleet of whalers. She made six complete whaling voyages to the southern whale fishery, and was lost in 1833 on her seventh whaling voyage.

<i>Mellish</i> (1819 ship)

Mellish was launched in 1819 at Kidderpore, Calcutta as Chicheley Plowden but renamed within the year and sold for a "free trader", i.e, a ship trading between England and India sailing under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She then made two voyages transporting convicts, the first to New South Wales, and the second to Van Diemen's Land (VDL). She next made two voyages as a South Seas whaler between 1831 and 1838. She was wrecked on 5 October 1844.

Venus was launched in France in 1802, possibly under another name. A Guernsey privateer captured her in 1805, but she first appeared as Venus in 1815. She traded generally until in 1830 she carried cargo to Port Jackson. Between 1831 and 1835 she made several voyages from Port Jackson as a whaler, sailing primarily to New Zealand waters. She returned to England and was last listed in 1838.

Harriet was launched in Massachusetts in 1809. The British captured her and on 13 January 1813 a prize court condemned her. New owners retained her name. She became a West Indiaman, and made one voyage to New South Wales. Between 1818 and 1832 she made four complete voyages as a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. She was lost in October 1833 in the Seychelles on her fifth whaling voyage.

Marquis/Marquess of Lansdown/Lansdowne was launched at Calcutta in 1824. She was initially a "country ship", trading east of the Cape of Good Hope. She then sailed to Port Jackson, but plans to establish a packet service between Australia and Calcutta, including taking tea from India to Australia under a licence from the British East India Company (EIC), did not work out. She then sailed to England and became a whaler, making four voyages to the British southern whale fishery between 1829 and 1845. She was last listed in 1847.

Denmark Hill was launched at Boston, Massachusetts, in 1809, under another name. She was taken in prize and in 1814 her new owners renamed her. She then spent another 25 years as a merchant ship. She transferred her registry to New South Wales and was lost there in 1839. During this time she also made some voyages as a whaler in the waters off New Zealand.

Dryade was launched at Bristol in 1825. She traded between England and Peru, the Indian Ocean, and then spent most of her career trading between England and New South Wales. Her crew and passengers abandoned her circa March 1841 when she developed a leak while sailing from Mauritius to London.

Robert Quayle was launched at Liverpool in 1814. Between 1816 and 1819 she made several voyages to India, sailing under a licence from the British East India Company (EIC). Between 1819 and 1821 she made one voyage with cargo to New South Wales, and then remained to engage in whaling. After her return to Britain she traded to South and North America. She was wrecked in December 1838 while engaged in the timber trade with Canada.

Pusey Hall was launched at Lancaster in 1808 as a West Indiaman. Between 1830 and 1837 she made two voyages as a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. She returned to trade and was wrecked at Patagonia in 1846 while engaged in the guano trade.

HMS Lyra was a Cherokee-class brig-sloop launched at Deptford in 1808 for the Royal Navy. In 1809 she was one of the vessels that participated in the Battle of Basque Roads. Thereafter, she captured numerous small prizes. Between 1812 and 1814 she served off the Spanish coast. In 1816 Lyra sailed to China as escort to a diplomatic mission. The Navy sold her in 1818. She then became a whaler. Between 1819 and 1833 she made five voyages in the southern whale fishery. She was last listed in 1833.

References

[[Category:Ships in art

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.