Comet (1791 ship)

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.

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

History
Great Britain
NameComet
BuilderMarmaduke Stalkart, Rotherhithe[1]
Launched29 September 1791[1]
FateWrecked 1 December 1843
General characteristics [2]
Tons burthen297, or 29746⁄94,[1] or 300,[3] or 301,[4] or 30250⁄94,[5] or 303, or 31185⁄94,[5] or 312 (bm)
Length
  • Overall:96 ft 5 in (29.4 m), or 99 ft 2 in (30.2 m)[5]
  • Keel:76 ft 3 in (23.2 m)
Beam27 ft 1 in (8.3 m), or 26 ft 11+3⁄4 in (8.2 m)[5]
Depth of hold12 ft 0 in (3.7 m),
Complement
Armament
  • 1793: 12 × 2-pounder guns[3]
  • 1797: 12 × 6-pounder guns[3]
  • 1811:4 × 9-pounder + 6 × 18-pounder carronades + 2 × 4-pounder guns

Career

Merchantman

Comet first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1791 with S.Baker, master, B.Daubuz, owner, and trade London–Leghorn.[4] Captain Sampson Baker acquired a letter of marque on 11 April 1793.[3] The size of her crew suggests that the intent was to cruize as a privateer. Not long after, the EIC chartered Comet and had Young measure her in 1794.[2] Lloyd's Register for 1794 showed her trade changing from London–Straits [of Gibraltar] to London–Bengal.[6]

EIC voyage (1794–1795): Baker sailed from Gravesend on 17 June 1794, bound for Bengal and Madras. Comet arrived at Calcutta on 15 November. Homeward bound she was at Kedgeree on 29 January 1795 and Saugor on 18 February. She was at Madras on 4 March and reached Saint Helena on 24 May. She stopped at the River Shannon on 13 September, and arrived back at Deptford on 18 October.[2]

After her return, Comet became a West Indiaman, with Captain Anthony Hooper acquiring a letter of marque on 6 September 1797.[3] On 6 March 1798 Lloyd's List (LL) reported that the French privateer Garonne had captured Comet, Hooper, master, as Comet was sailing from Martinique to London. Garonne also captured Alert, Bligh, master, which was sailing from St Ubes to Limerick. Garonne put Hooper and Bligh aboard Minerva, Gardner, master, which carried them into Falmouth.[7] On 30 Marc Lloyd's List reported that Comet had been carried into Rochefort. Comet returned to British ownership by means that are currently unclear. A Comet, Peterson, master, arrived at Gravesend on 20 August 1800.[8] She may have returned as a cartel. Then Comet, Murcheson, master, sailed from Gravesend for Demerara on 17 November.[9]

Year Master Owner Trade Source & Notes
1797 S.Baker
A.Hooper		 B.Daubuz
Lauchlan		 London–Bengal
London–Saint Vincent		 LR
1800 Murchison Davidson London–Demerara LR

LL reported on 18 December 1801 that Comet, Murcheson, master, and Themis, Douglas, master, had run into each other near Portsmouth. Comet was sailing from London to Demerara, and Themis was sailing from London to Grenada. Comet lost her mizzenmast and had her quarters stove in.[10]

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1807 Murcheson London–Demerara LR
1809 Mughan Smith London–Demerara Register of Shipping (RS)
1811 Mughan
Brady		 Smith Hull–Lisbon
London–Lisbon		 RS; thorough repair 1811
1811 Maughan
C.Brady		 J.Smith Hull–Lisbon LR; thorough repair 1811
1812 C.Brady
A.Scura		 J.Smith Hull–Lisbon
South Seas		 LR; thorough repair 1811 & repairs 1812

Southern Whale Fishery

1st whaling voyage (1812–1815): Captain Abel Scurr sailed from Hull on 3 September 1812, bound for Peru and the Galapagos.[11] [lower-alpha 1] By one report, Comet had two captains Scurr: was the "fighting captain" and Duke (or Dunn), was the "whaling captain".[13] Comet arrived off the coast of Chile only to undergo detention between January 1813 and March 1814 at Talcahuano.[14] The detention came at the hand of the Patriots, the independence fighter opposing the Spanish loyalists. After her release, Comet went whaling at the Galapagos Islands and elsewhere in the region.[lower-alpha 2] Captain Scurr died on 17 June 1815; Comet arrived at Callao the next day. Comet sailed for home on 15 July, sailing via Cape Horn and Saint Helena.[12]

Comet, Duke, master, returned to England on 4 December 1815 with 350 casks of oil plus fins from 38 whales plus oil from 873 Galapagos turtles, in all 115 tons of oil.[11] Her cargo was worth about £7,000.[13]

Before sailing on her second whaling voyage, Comet, Captain Sugden, sailed to the West Indies. Lloyd's List reported on 11 March 1817 that Comet, Sugden, master, had arrived at Dominica from Hull.[15] She arrived back at Gravesend on 25 May.

Comet, Sugden, master, also sailed to Russia. On 30 August 1817 she was at Petersburg. She returned to Gravesend on 26 October .[16]

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1816 A.Scura
J.Sugden		 J.Smith Hull–South Seas LR; large repair 1811, repairs 1812 & 1816
1818 Sugden
E.Phipps		 J.Smith London–South Seas LR; large repair 1811, repairs 1812 & 1816
1816 A.Storr
Sugden		 Smith Hull–South Seas
Hull–America		 Register of Shipping (RS); good repair 1816
1818 Sugden
Phipps		 Smith Liverpool–America
London–South Seas		 RS; good repair 1816

2nd whaling voyage (1818–1819): Comet was reported to be at Portsmouth on 26 March 1818, bound for the South Seas.[17] By another account, Comet, Phipps, master, sailed from England on 3 April 1818. He returned on 11 June 1819 with 350 casks plus fins, or 175 tons train oil.[11]

3rd whaling voyage (1819–1821): Captain Stewart (or Steward) sailed from Deal for the South Seas on 3 November 1819, having come from Hull.[18] On 6 December 1819 she was at 2°N 24°W. Comet returned to England on 13 November 1821 with 250 casks (117 tuns) of whale oil, plus fins.[11]

Northern Whale Fishery

On her return from the South Seas, Comet made a voyage to Russia, and then became a whaler in the Northern Whale Fishery.[13]

Year Master Owner Trade Source
1822 J.Stewart
A. Haig		 J.Smith Hull–South Seas
Hull–Archangel		 LR; large repairs 1819 & repairs 1822
1823 A.Haigh
J.Brass		 Marshall Hull–Archangel
Davis Strait		 LR; large repairs 1819 & repairs 1822 & 1823

For 18 years between 1823 and 1840 Comet made one voyage a year to the Northern Whale Fishery. The following data is from Coltish:[19]

Year Master Where Whales Tuns whale oil
1823 Brass Davis Strait 23 185
1824 Brass Davis Strait 10 130
1825 Brass Davis Strait 7 90
1826 Brass Davis Strait 6 87
1827 Newham Davis Strait 5 86
1828 Knight Davis Strait 9 114
1829 Knight Davis Strait 4 45
1830 Woodhall Davis Strait 1 13
1831 Markham Davis Strait 3 35
1832 Martin Davis Strait 28 191
1833 Martin Davis Strait 22 200
1834 Martin Davis Strait 6 71
1835 Martin Davis Strait 1  ?
1836 Martin Davis Strait 1  ?
1837 Martin Davis Strait 0 0
1838 Ward Davis Strait 20  ?
1839 Ward Davis Strait 5  ?
1840 Ward Davis Strait 0 0

Merchantman

After several disappointing years as a whaler, her owners shifted her employment to mercantile trade.

Year Master Owner Trade Source
1840 I.Ward Barkworth Hull–Davis Strait
Hull		 LR; large repair 1840 & damages and small repair 1841
1841 I.Ward
H.Wright		 Barkworth Hull–Sydney LR; large repair 1840 & damages and small repair 1841
1842 H.Wright Barkworth Hull–Sydney
Hull–Quebec		 LR; large repair 1840 & damages and small repair 1841

Fate

Comet ran aground on 1 December 1843 on the Haisborough Sands, in the North Sea off the coast of Norfolk; her crew abandoned her. She had been on a voyage from Quebec City to Hull.[20][21] Comet was refloated the next day and beached at Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.[22]

The data for Comet in Lloyd's Register for 1843 is unchanged from 1842, with the exception of the annotation "LOST".

Notes
  1. The voyage is well-described because the log books have survived.[12]
  2. Her detention spared Comet from falling victim to Commodore Porter, who in 1813 had captured 12 British whalers around the Galapagos Islands.[14]

Citations
  1. Hackman (2001), p. 83.
  2. British Library: Comet (1).
  3. "Letter of Marque, p. 56 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  4. LR (1791), Seq.№607.
  5. Credland (1984), p. 142.
  6. LR (1794), seq.C342.
  7. LL 6 March 1798, №2985.
  8. LL 22 August 1800, #4029.
  9. LL 18 November 1800, №4103, Ship arrival and departure (SAD) data.
  10. LL 18 December 1801, №213.
  11. captured bv/voyages/ British Southern Whale Fishery – Voyages: Comet.
  12. Jones (1983).
  13. Clayton (2014), p. 90.
  14. Mawer (1999), p. 119.
  15. LL 17 March 1817, №5158, Ship arrivals and departure (SAD) data.
  16. LL 28 October 1817, №5224, SAD data.
  17. LL 27 March 1818, №5266, SAD data.
  18. LL 5 November 1819, №5426, SAD data.
  19. Coltish (c. 1842).
  20. "Ship News". The Morning Post. No. 22742. London. 4 December 1843.
  21. "Shipwreck". The Hull Packet and East Riding Times. No. 3078. Hull. 15 December 1843.
  22. "Ship News". the Morning Post. No. 22743. London. 5 December 1843.

References
  • Clayton, Jane M (2014). Ships employed in the South Sea Whale Fishery from Britain: 1775–1815: An alphabetical list of ships. Berforts Group. ISBN 9781908616524.
  • Coltish, William (c. 1842). An account of the success of the ships at the Greenland and Davis Straits fisheries 1772-1842 inclusive.
  • Credland, Arthur G. (1984). "Some Further Information on the Comet of Hull". The Great Circle. 6 (2): 142–144.
  • Hackman, Rowan (2001). Ships of the East India Company. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-96-7.
  • Jones, A.G.E. (1983). "The South Seas Whaling Voyage of the 'Comet', 1812-1815". The Great Circle. 5 (2): 98–104.
  • Mawer, Granville Allen (1999). Ahab's trade: The Saga of South Seas whaling. New York: St Martin's Press. ISBN 0312228090.
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