Sappho (1785 ship)

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

History
Great Britain
Name	Sappho
Namesake	Sappho
Builder	Shields
Launched	1785 [1]
Fate	Last listed 1798
General characteristics
Tons burthen	139, [2] or 200 [1] (bm)
Armament	2 × 4-pounder guns (post–1793)

Sappho was launched at Shields in 1785. She spent most of her career trading with the Baltic, though she made some voyages elsewhere, and in particular, between 1788 and 1799 she made a voyage to the Falkland Islands as a whaler. She was last listed in 1798, having perhaps been captured in late 1797.

Career

Sappho first appeared in Lloyd's Register in 1786. ^[1]

Year	Master	Owner	Trade	Source
1786	Sanderson	T.Weir	Gothenburg–London	LR
1787	Sanderson T.Middleton	T.Weir Ogle & Co.	Gothenburg–London London–Southern Fishery	LR

Whaling voyage (1787–1789): Captain Thomas Middleton sailed from London on 5 December 1787, bound for the Falkland Islands. ^[3] In April 1789 Sappho and Elizabeth and Mary, James Hopper, master, were in Port Desire when a Spanish frigate arrived and confiscated thousands of seal skins they had gathered. ^[4] Sappho herself had to give up some 7,000 seal skins. ^[3] In April 1789 she put into Port Desire for water and repairs. ^[2] Sappho returned to London on 16 July 1789 with one tun of sperm oil, eight tuns of whale oil, four cwt whale bone, and 19,000 seal skins. ^[3]

Year	Master	Owner	Trade	Source
1790	G.Middleton W.Moody	Horncastle	London–Petersburg	LR
1793	W.Moody Illegible J.French	Horncastle G.Kendal	London–Ostend London–Lisbon	LR
1794	J.French J.Greathead	G.Kedall	London–Lisbon	LR
1795	Greathed	Kendall	London–Pernambuco	LR
1796	Greethed	Kendall	London–Riga	LR

Fate

Sappho was last listed in 1798 with data unchanged from 1796.

A French privateer captured and took into Bordeaux in 1797 a Sappho, Elliot, master, as Sappho was sailing from Lisbon to Limerick. ^[5] Although at the time Sappho was a unique name in Lloyd's Register, it may require original research to determine whether the captured Sappho was the Sappho of this article.

Citations

1. LR (1786), Seq.No.S618.
2. Clayton (2014), p. 214.
3. British Southern Whale Fishery Database – Voyages: Sappho.
4. Stackpole (1972), p. 122.
5. "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 2956. 22 September 1797. hdl:2027/mdp.39015073721238.

References

• Clayton, J.M. (2014). Ships employed in the South Sea Whale Fishery from Britain: 1775-1815: An alphabetical list of ships. Jane M. Clayton. ISBN   978-1-908616-52-4.
• Stackpole, Edouard A. (1972). Whales & Destiny: The Rivalry Between America, France, and Britain for Control of the Southern Whale Fishery, 1785-1825. University of Massachusetts Press.