Neptune was launched in the Thirteen Colonies in 1778. She entered Lloyd's Register as Neptune in 1786. (She apparently entered British ownership in 1785, but Lloyd's Register was not published in 1785.) She then sailed as general merchantman. In the late 1790s she was a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. She was last listed in 1803, though the data is stale and she was last surveyed in 1797.
| History | |
|---|---|
| Thirteen Colonies | |
| Launched | 1778, Thirteen Colonies |
| Fate | Sold c. 1786 |
 Great Britain | |
| Name | Neptune |
| Acquired | 1785 |
| Fate | Last listed 1803 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 213,[1] or 218,[2][3] or 250,[4] or 300[5] (bm) |
Career
editLloyd's Register (1786) listed Neptune with P. Martin, master and owner, and trade London–Jamaica, changing to London–Maryland.[5] Lloyd's List, however, reported on 4 October 1784 that Neptune, Martin, master, from Suriname, had arrived at Hispaniola, and was expected to sail from Port-au-Prince to Quebec in mid-August.[6]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1790 | P. Martin | P. Martin | Waterford–Newfoundland | LR;[4] small repairs 1789 |
| 1795 | J. French | J. Jarrett | London transport | LR; good repair 1794 |
| 1800 | T. Hopper | Jarrett (jr.) | London-Southern Fisheries | LR; good repair 1796 |
Lloyd's List reported on 5 June 1789 that Neptune, Martin, master, had had to put back into Waterford after having been out some three weeks. She had become very leaky.[7]
Lloyd's Register for 1797 showed Neptune's master changing from J. French to T. Hopper, and her trade to London–South Seas.[2] Neptune was mentioned in the Protection Lists.[3]
Captain Hopper sailed Neptune in 1797 on a whaling voyage to the East Coast of Africa.[1] She was at Delagoa Bay in late June 1798. There, on 28 June 1798, Captain Sever, of the East Indiaman Lion, chartered Neptune, Hopper, master, and two other English ships, London, Keen, master, and Eliza, Kerr, master, to carry Lion's cargo back to England. Lion had been carrying a cargo from Madras and Columbo to England when she had put into Delagoa Bay in distress. Despite the efforts of the three other English ships and three American ships there, Lion could not be saved.[8]
Neptune and Eliza towed Lion farther up the Maputo River and then remained for some weeks. Eventually, all three British whalers left with only a portion of the cargo. The bulk of Lion's cargo was to go on Britannia, which had since arrived.[8]
Citations
edit- ^ a b [1] Jones, A.G. E.; Dale Chatwin; and Rhys Richards. BSWF Database – voyages: Neptune.
- ^ a b Lloyd's Register (1797), Seq.no.N131.
- ^ a b Clayton (2014), p. 179.
- ^ a b Lloyd's Register (1790), seq. №N162.
- ^ a b Lloyd's Register (1786), Seq.№N172.
- ^ Lloyd's List №1713.
- ^ Lloyd's List no.2096.
- ^ a b White (1800).
References
edit- Clayton, J.M. (2014). Ships employed in the South Sea Whale Fishery from Britain: 1775-1815: An alphabetical list of ships. Jane M. Clayton. ISBN 978-1-908616-52-4.
- White, William M. (1800) Journal of a Voyage Performed in the Lion Extra Indiaman, from Madras to Columbo and Da Lagoa Bay ... in the Year 1798: With Some Account of the Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants of Da Lagoa Bay and a Vocabulary of the Language. (John Stockdale).