| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Oracabessa |
| Namesake | Oracabessa |
| Builder | Thomas Walton, Hull |
| Launched | 16 November 1810 |
| Fate | Foundered 27 May 1823 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 370, [1] or 384, [2] or 386 (bm) |
| Armament | 4 × 6-pounder guns + 6 × 6-pounder carronades [1] |
Oracabessa (or Orracabezza) was launched in 1810 at Hull. She was initially a West Indiaman but then from 1818 she started trading with India. She foundered in a hurricane in the Bay of Bengal in 1823.
Oracabessa first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1811 with S. Beatty, master, Moxon, owner, and trade Hull–London, followed by London–Jamaica. She had had damages repaired. [1] In 1815 her master was R.Cowham, changing to Collier, her owner was still Moxon, and her trade was still London–Jamaica.
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 license from the EIC. [3]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source& notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1818 | T.Milne Thompson | Shedden | London–New Brunswick London–India | LR; damages repaired 1815 |
| 1820 | Thompson | Pagan & Co. | London–India | LR; damages repaired 1815 |
| 1823 | Thompson | Farley | London–Île de France (Mauritius) | LR; damages repaired 1815 |
Lloyd's List (LL) reported on 13 January 1818 that Oracabessa had arrived in Portsmouth, having sailed from Jamaica on 11 November 1817. Oracabessa reported having seen a two-decker, believed to be Spanish, on shore in "the Gulf". [4] Captain Thompson sailed for the Île de France on 16 May 1818. [5]
On 26 July 1821 Orracabezza, Thompson, master, put into Bahia leaky. She was going to have to discharge her cargo to deal with the leak. She was on a voyage from Gibraltar to Mauritius. [6]
On 27 May 1823 Oracabessa foundered on the Long Sand in a hurricane in the Bay of Bengal while on the way to Mauritius. Captain Carmichael and the 35-7 men of the crew were saved. [7] [8] The volume of Lloyd's Register for 1824 carried the annotation "lost" beneath her name.
Oracabessa and Liverpool were both lying in Saugor Roads when the gale came up. Even though she had three anchors out, the gale drove Oracabessa onto Long Sand. Her crew cutaway her masts and rigging, as the seas broke over her. She survived the night and next morning the chief mate, leadsman, and all but seven of the crew took to her longboat. They rigged a storm sail, and made for Kedgeree. They got through the breakers, though they frequently had to bail out the longboat, and after about an hour and a half after leaving Oracabessa they reached Kedgeree. In the afternoon Captain Carmichael, the second mate, the pilot, and the remaining crew members fashioned a raft with which they safely reached shore. [9]
Liverpool, by contrast, was lost with the loss of all but four members of her crew. [9] The brigs Helen and Cuttack, and a sloop, were also lost.
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).
Castle Forbes was a merchant ship built by Robert Gibbon & Sons at Aberdeen, Scotland in 1818. She was the first vessel built at Aberdeen for the trade with India. She then made several voyages to India, sailing under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She made two voyages transporting convicts from Ireland to Australia. She sustained damage in 1826 on a voyage to India and was condemned at the Cape of Good Hope. However, she was repaired. She was last listed in 1832, and in 1838 in Lloyd's Register (LR).
Hippolyta, was launched in 1813. She was initially a West Indiaman but then made some voyages to India under a license from the British East India Company. She returned to the West Indies trade and in 1823 wrecked near Boulogne, while sailing from Havana for London.
HMS North Star was a ship launched in 1810 and spent much of her naval career on the Jamaica Station. The Navy sold her in 1817 and she became the merchantman Columbo. Columbo sailed between Britain and India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC) until she was damaged in 1822 while returning from Ceylon. She was condemned at Point de Galle and sold there for breaking up.
Lady Banks was launched in 1810 at Boston. After some voyages as a transport and West Indiaman she sailed to India under a license from the British East India Company. She was condemned at Mauritius in 1821. However, a local merchant repaired and purchased her and sailed her to China.
True Briton was launched at Pont Neuf, Quebec, in 1811. Her primary trade was sailing between Britain and New Brunswick, but she also sailed to Jamaica, and made two voyages to India. Her crew abandoned her in the Atlantic in 1822.
Ceres was launched at Kolkata in August 1793 as Lutchmy and renamed in 1794. She sailed to England in 1798 and became a West Indiaman. She was condemned at Barbados in 1806. New owners returned her to service, first as a West Indiaman and then as an East Indiaman. She was damaged at Mauritius in 1818 and although she was listed until 1824, it is not clear that she sailed again after the damage she sustained in Mauritius.
Liverpool was launched at Calcutta in 1815. She traded between Britain and India under a license from the EIC, and was lost in May 1823.
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.
Aberdeen was launched at Quebec in 1811. She sailed to England and then traded between Quebec and Britain. She made two voyages to India under license from the British East India Company (EIC). After her return from the second, in 1820, she was no longer listed.
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.
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.
Waterloo was launched in 1815 at Plymouth. She made two voyages to India. Heavy seas in October 1820 so damaged her that her crew had to abandon her in the North Atlantic.
Marchioness Wellesley was launched at Calcutta in 1805. She initially sailed as a country ship, i.e., trading east of the Cape of Good Hope. She participated in the 1811 British military expedition to Java. In 1815 she sailed to England and then sailed between England and India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She was broken up in 1821 or 1824.
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.
Medina was launched in 1811 and quickly became a West Indiaman. Ten years later she started sailing to the East Indies under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She made two voyages transporting convicts to Australia, first to Sydney and then to Hobart. She also brought immigrants to the Swan River Colony. On that voyage she sustained damage that caused her to be condemned in July 1831.
Jupiter was launched in 1805 at Shields. In addition to sailing generally as a transport, she made one voyage to Bengal sailing there under a licence from the British East India Company (EIC). She also made one voyage to Australia in 1823 carrying a small number of migrants. She was condemned in 1829 as unseaworthy.
Boyne was built in 1822 in Newcastle upon Tyne as a West Indiaman. In 1824–1825 she made one voyage to Bengal for the British East India Company (EIC)). She next made one voyage to Bombay under a license from the EIC. She then returned to the West Indies trade. Her crew abandoned her on 18 August 1830 in a sinking state as she was sailing from Jamaica to London.
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.
Bengal was launched at Greenock in February 1815. She was the first vessel built in Scotland for the East India trade. She immediately made three voyages to India, sailing under a licence from the British East India Company (EIC). She then traded with the United States, alternating that with other voyages to India. In 1819, on one voyage to India, she was anchored at Calcutta and the venue for a party that resulted in her captain, surgeon, and about a fifth of the guests all dying within days of an unknown disease. She was wrecked in about 1847.
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