HMS Sealark (1806)
Encyclopedia
HMS Sealark was a Royal Navy
Cuckoo-class schooner
of four 12-pounder carronade
s and a crew of 20. She was built by William Wheaton at Brixham and launched in 1806. Like many of her class and the related Ballahoo-class schooner
s, she succumbed to the perils of the sea relatively early in her career.
on 7 September. The prize money amounted to £
3 8s
for an ordinary seaman, or slightly over two months wages. In 1809 she came under the command of Lieutenant James Proctor.
in the North Sea. A heavy sea swamped her and she sank immediately. Only one member of her crew survived. 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."
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
Cuckoo-class schooner
Cuckoo class schooner
The Cuckoo class was a class of twelve 4-gun schooners of the Royal Navy, built by contract in English shipyards during the Napoleonic War. They followed the design of the Bermuda-designed and built Ballahoo-class schooners, and more particularly, that of Haddock. The Admiralty ordered all twelve...
of four 12-pounder carronade
Carronade
The carronade was a short smoothbore, cast iron cannon, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, UK. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon...
s and a crew of 20. She was built by William Wheaton at Brixham and launched in 1806. Like many of her class and the related Ballahoo-class schooner
Ballahoo class schooner
The Ballahoo class was a Royal Navy class of eighteen 4-gun schooners built under contract in Bermuda during the Napoleonic War. The class was an attempt by the Admiralty to harness the expertise of Bermudian shipbuilders who were renowned for their fast-sailing craft...
s, 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 CopenhagenBattle of Copenhagen (1807)
The Second Battle of Copenhagen was a British preemptive attack on Copenhagen, targeting the civilian population in order to seize the Dano-Norwegian fleet and in turn originate the term to Copenhagenize.-Background:Despite the defeat and loss of many ships in the first Battle of Copenhagen in...
on 7 September. The prize money amounted to £
£sd
£sd was the popular name for the pre-decimal currencies used in the Kingdom of England, later the United Kingdom, and ultimately in much of the British Empire...
3 8s
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
for an ordinary seaman, or slightly over two months wages. In 1809 she came under the command of Lieutenant James Proctor.
Fate
On 18 June 1809 she was sailing in company with BlakeHMS Blake (1808)
HMS Blake was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 23 August 1808 at Deptford and named in honour of Admiral Robert Blake.From 1814 she served as a prison ship, and in 1816 Blake was sold out of the navy....
in the North Sea. A heavy sea swamped her and she sank immediately. Only one member of her crew survived. 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."