HMS Shamrock (1808)

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Shamrock
Namesake	The Shamrock
Ordered	February 1808
Builder	Bermuda
Laid down	1808
Launched	15 September 1808
Fate	Wrecked 23 February 1811
General characteristics
Type	Shamrock-class schooner
Tons burthen	15032⁄94 (bm)
Length	Overall:78 ft 8 in (24.0 m); Keel:60 ft 8+1⁄8 in (18.5 m);
Beam	21 ft 7 in (6.6 m)
Depth of hold	7 ft 10 in (2.4 m)
Sail plan	Schooner
Complement	50
Armament	8 × 12-pounder carronades + 6 × 6-pounder chase guns

HMS Shamrock was a schooner built at Bermuda in 1808 of Bermuda cedar. She was built for the Royal Navy and was the name-ship of her class of 10-gun schooners. She was wrecked in 1811.

Career

Sahmrock was commissioned under Lieutenant Abraham Bowen in 1808. There was a report that she had been lost on a passage from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Barbados, and some official mentions to that effect, but these are clearly in error.^[2]

In 1809 Lieutenant Wentworth Parsons Croke replaced Bowen. Between 22 December 1810 and 16 January 1811 Shamrock underwent repairs at Portsmouth.^[1] She then departed carrying dispatches for Lisbon.

Loss

Lloyd's List initially reported on 2 April 1811 that "HM schooner Shamrock" had been lost off Cape St Mary's, and that her crew had been saved.^[3]

Lieutenant Croke was cruising south east of Cape St Vincent when Shamrock pursued two merchant vessels that she did not catch. She then turned north to regain her station. At 10:30 pm on 23 February 1811 she ran aground, which came as a considerable shock as Croke had thought himself well-clear of land. It proved impossible to get her off and as waves poured over her and she filled with water he had Shamrock's masts cut away. They fell towards shore and the crew used them to scramble to safety. Still, two men died in the wreck. When the sun rose, Croke was able to see that Shamrock was about one and a half miles south of Cabo de Santa Maria.^[4] The location was approximately 36°55′N 7°48′W / 36.917°N 7.800°W / 36.917; -7.800.^[5]

The subsequent court-martial admonished Croke to be more careful in the future. The causes of the loss were a miscalculation in navigation and strong currents that had put Shamrock much further north than he had realized, but Croke had failed to take necessary precautions when approaching land.^[4]

Notes

^ All measurements are per design, not "as built".^[1]

Citations

^ ^a ^b Winfield (2008), p. 362.
^ Hepper (1994), p. 127.
^ Lloyd's List №4550.
^ ^a ^b Hepper (1994), pp. 135–6.
^ Grocott (1997), p. 312.

References

Grocott, Terence (1997). Shipwrecks of the Revolutionary & Napoleonic Eras. London: Chatham. ISBN 1861760302.
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 Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.