HMS Sealark (1806)

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History
Royal Navy EnsignUK
NameHMS Sealark
Ordered11 December 1805
BuilderWilliam Wheaton, Brixham
Laid downFebruary 1806
Launched1 August 1806
FateFoundered 18 June 1809
General characteristics [1]
Class and typeCuckoo-class schooner
Tonnage75 68⁄94 (bm)
Length
  • 56 ft 4 in (17.2 m) (overall)
  • 42 ft 4+1⁄4 in (12.9 m) (keel)
Beam18 ft 4 in (5.6 m)
Draught
  • Unladen: 3 ft 10 in (1.2 m)
  • Laden: 7 ft 8 in (2.3 m)
Depth of hold8 ft 6 in (2.6 m)
Sail planSchooner
Complement20
Armament4 × 12-pounder carronades
For other ships with the same name, see HMS Sealark.

HMS Sealark was a Royal Navy Cuckoo-class schooner of four 12-pounder carronades and a crew of 20. She was built by William Wheaton at Brixham and launched in 1806.[1] Like many of her class and the related Ballahoo-class schooners, she succumbed to the perils of the sea relatively early in her career.

Service[]

She was commissioned in October 1806 under Lieutenant Thomas Banks for the North Sea. Sealark was at the surrender of the Danish Fleet after the Battle of Copenhagen on 7 September. The prize money amounted to £3 8s for an ordinary seaman, or slightly over two months wages.[2] In 1809 she came under the command of Lieutenant James Procter.[1]

Fate[]

On 18 June 1809 she was sailing in company with Blake in the North Sea.[3] A heavy sea swamped her and she sank immediately. Only one member of her crew survived.[4] On 29 June 1809 The Times printed the following: "The Sealark schooner has been upset on the coast of Holland and all hands on board, excepting one man, unfortunately perished."[5]

Citations[]

  1. ^ a b c Winfield (2008), p.361.
  2. ^ "No. 16275". The London Gazette. 11 July 1809. p. 1103.
  3. ^ Gossett (1986), p.72.
  4. ^ Hepper (1994), p.129.
  5. ^ Grocott (1997), p.279.

References[]

  • Gossett, William Patrick (1986) The lost ships of the Royal Navy, 1793-1900. (London:Mansell). ISBN 0-7201-1816-6
  • Grocott, Terence (1997) Shipwrecks of the revolutionary & Napoleonic eras (Chatham). ISBN 1-86176-030-2
  • Hepper, David J. (1994) British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650-1859. (Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot). ISBN 0-948864-30-3
  • Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1-86176-246-1.
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