| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | Skene |
| Owner: | |
| Builder: | Leith [1] |
| Launched: | 1816 [1] |
| Fate: | Wrecked 1824 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 246, [1] or 250 [2] (bm) |
| Propulsion: | Sail |
| Sail plan: | Brig |
Skene (or Skeene, or Skeen), was built at Leith in 1816. She made several voyages carrying emigrants from Scotland, twice to Canada and once for the Poyais scheme. She was wrecked immediately thereafter while sailing back to England from Saint Petersburg.
Skeene entered Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1816 with J. Mason, master, L. Skeene, owner, and trade Leith–New York. [1]
On 16 May 1818 the "brig Skeene" arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia, with 85 passengers after a voyage of 44 days from Leith. [3]
In 1819 Captain George Bishop sailed the "brig Skeene" (or Skeen) from Leith and arrived at Halifax, on 1 May with 113 passengers. She sailed on to Quebec, where she arrived on 6 June. [4]
On 2 November 1821 Skeen was sailing to Bristol from Waterford when she grounded. She was reported to be upright and expected to be got off. [5]
On 5 March 1822, Skeen, Wilson, master, ran into a severe gale that took out most of her bulwarks and split her sails. The next day she came into the Clyde. She had been sailing from Liverpool to Rio de Janeiro. [6]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1822 | Skene | S.Skene | Dublin–Waterford Liverpool–Brazils | Register of Shipping (RS) |
| 1823 | Skene | S.Skene | Liverpool–Brazils | RS |
| 1824 | Wilson | S.Skene | Leith–Poyas. [2] | RS |
In 1823 the adventurer and fantasist Gregor Macgregor chartered Skene, John Wilson, master, to take 105 (or 109 [7] emigrants from Leith to Poyais, the colony in Honduras that he was promoting. He had already dispatched Honduras Packet and Kennersley Castle. Skeen left Leith on 4 June with the settlers, together with stores and merchandise. [7] By the time Skene arrived at Black River, Honduras, on 29 July 1823 the survivors from the two previous ships had already been rescued and taken to Belize. Skene sailed to Belize and left her passengers there. Some stayed on, but the widows and orphans were eventually repatriated to Scotland. [8]
The investment frenzy and subsequent debacle gave rise to a number of ballads. [9]
Skene, Skene, master, was lost on 23 or 24 August 1824 on Rottumeroog, Groningen, Netherlands. She was on a voyage from St Petersburg, Russia to London. [10]
Citations
References
| Shipwrecks |
|
|---|---|
| Other incidents |
|
Duke of York was a three-masted brig (later barque} launched in 1817 at Bideford as a Falmouth packet, sailing between Falmouth, Cornwall, and Jamaica. In 1836 she brought settlers to South Australia for the South Australia Company. She was wrecked in 1837.
Albion was a sailing ship of two decks and three masts, built at Bristol, England, and launched in 1813. She made three voyages transporting convicts to Van Diemen's Land and New South Wales. She also traded with Jamaica, India, and Quebec. For two of the voyages to India she was an "extra" ship to the British East India Company (EIC).
HMS Nimrod was a brig-sloop of the British Royal Navy, launched in 1812. She spent her war years in north American waters where she captured one small privateer, assisted in the capture of another, and captured or destroyed some 50 American vessels. After the war she captured smugglers and assisted the civil authorities in maintaining order in Tyne. She was wrecked in 1827 and so damaged that the Navy decided she was not worth repairing. A private ship-owner purchased Nimrod and repaired her. She then went on to spend some 20 years trading between Britain and Charleston, the Mediterranean, Australia, and India. She was last listed in 1851.
Barkworth was launched in 1811 and began her career as a West Indiaman. She then made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). Thereafter she traded with India. She disappeared without a trace in 1824 on her way to Bombay.
Kennersley Castle, was a merchantman launched in 1811. She made several voyages transporting British troops. She also twice transported emigrants from Britain, once to South Africa and then once, most notably because of the subsequent notoriety of her destination, to the at best misguided and at worst fraudulent colony of Poyais. She was wrecked in 1833 and her remains were burned in 1834.
Honduras Packet was launched in Spain in 1798 under another name and was renamed when the British captured her in 1802. She was a merchantman that between 1804 and 1809 made one, two, or three voyages seal hunting or whaling in the Southern Fishery. She was also the first vessel to transport Scottish emigrants to Honduras in 1822-23 under Gregor MacGregor's ill-conceived and ill-fated "Poyais scheme". She was last listed in 1828-30.
Albion was launched at Whitehaven and spent her entire career as a West Indiaman. She was the last vessel to sail under Gregor Macgregor's ill-conceived and ill-fated Poyais scheme. She delivered her cargo of stores for the colony to Belize in November 1823 and was wrecked, with no loss of life, off Cuba in March 1824 on her way home to England.
Earl of Buckinghamshire was built at Montreal in 1814. She sailed to Britain and made two voyages to India. She then started trading between Liverpool and North America. In 1821 she carried some 600 settlers from Greenock to Quebec. Her crew abandoned her in the North Atlantic in October 1822 and she was wrecked in November when she drifted ashore at Galway Bay, Ireland.
Skelton was launched in 1818 at Whitby. She made one notable voyage in 1820 to Australia, notable because her captain later published a detailed account with extensive economic, commercial, and other observational information about the Cape of Good Hope, Hobart Town, Port Jackson, and Rio de Janeiro. She later became a West Indiaman and was wrecked in 1828.
Glenmore was launched in 1806 at Elgin. She was initially a West Indiaman. She made one voyage to Bengal in 1813–14. She became a Greenland whaler in 1818 and made four full whaling voyages. She was lost in the White Sea in 1822.
Blenheim may have been launched in 1776 in Philadelphia as Britannia. By 1777 she was the Massachusetts-based privateer American Tartar and had taken several prizes. She had also participated in an inconclusive single-ship action with a British merchantman. The British Royal Navy captured American Tartar late in 1777 and she became HMS Hinchinbrook. The Royal Navy sold her in 1783 and she became the West Indiaman Blenheim. In 1785-86 she became a Greenland whaler and she continued in that trade until two French frigates captured and burnt her in 1806.
Lord Wellington was launched in 1811 at Whitby as a London-based transport. She made one voyage to India c. 1816. She sank in May 1823 after striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic.
Lord Wellington was launched in 1810 at Rochester, or equally, Chatham, as a West Indiaman. She made at least one voyage to India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She then made a voyage to New South Wales transporting female convicts from England and Ireland. She was lost in December 1822 off Denmark while sailing from Saint Petersburg to London.
Adrian was launched in 1819 at Newcastle-on-Tyne. She initially sailed between London and Canada but then in 1822 she started sailing east of the Cape of Good Hope under a license from the British East India Company. She made voyages to Bengal and Batavia. In between, she transported convicts to New South Wales. She foundered in 1833.
Woodlark was launched at Rotherhithe in 1819. She initially traded with the Mediterranean but then switched to trading with Australia, the Dutch East Indies, and Singapore. She was wrecked in April 1828 while sailing from Australia to the Cape of Good Hope on her way to England.
Grace was launched in New York in 1812. She was taken in prize circa 1814. She then became a Falmouth, Cornwall, packet, sailing for the Post Office. She primarily sailed to New York via Halifax and Bermuda, but also sailed to the Mediterranean and Brazil. She twice encountered American privateers, repelling one and outpacing the other. In 1821 she sailed on a seal and whale hunting voyage to the South Shetland Islands and the coast of Chile. She foundered in the South Atlantic circa May 1823 while homeward bound.
Lord Suffield was launched in 1816 at Great Yarmouth. She made a voyage to Peru that proved unsuccessful after she was detained and then released. She made several voyages to Bengal under a licence from the British East India Company (EIC). Finally, she grounded on 17 April 1832 in Pentland Firth and was wrecked.
Caroline was a merchant vessel launched at Shoreham in 1804 as a West Indiaman. She spent almost her entire career sailing to the West Indies, and endured two maritime mishaps during that period, one at Sierra Leone. She sailed to Batavia in 1824 under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). From Batavia she sailed to Sincapore, where she was condemned.
Brilliant was launched at Whitehaven in 1807. Initially, she was a West Indiaman. Then from 1816 she started sailing to India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She grounded in February or on 10 March 1821 at Coringa while sailing from London to Bengal. She was refloated, repaired, and sold locally.
