Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail
Galleons, East Indiamen, pirates and castaways: the Atocha, the San José, the Whydah, the Wager, the Méduse and the Bounty.
This chapter of Lost at Sea holds 50 ships. For each one we give what she was, when and where she was lost, why she is remembered and where she lies today. See all 489 ships on one page.
Marea can build any of these ships as she was on the day she sailed, with the maximum detail the records permit. Many of these wrecks are war graves or the resting place of those lost with them, and we build them with that in mind.
This database was put together by Ai Refloat™, Marea’s own artificial intelligence, from museums, heritage registers, archaeological reports, official inquiries, newspapers and encyclopaedias. Ai Refloat is still young & like any teenager, it can be a little volatile and unpredictable at times, but above all, it is learning fast. So this list may well contain mistakes and we welcome the input of everyone who knows these ships better than we do.
Have you spotted a mistake, or is a wreck missing? Tell us which ship and what to correct, and we will amend it accordingly. Tell us here
The ships
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Portugal
Flor de la Mar Storm
20 November 1511 · Off Timia Point, kingdom of Aru, Sumatra, Strait of Malacca
The ship Carrack (nau), Portugal
Built Lisbon, 1502
Size 400 tons, 50 guns, complement about 500 (a Malaysian replica is 36 m by 8 m)
Aboard Afonso de Albuquerque and over 400 crew
Lives lost More than 400
After Albuquerque's conquest of Malacca, the carrack, known to be dangerously unseaworthy when fully loaded, sailed as his flagship carrying treasure looted from the Sultan's palace. She was wrecked on shoals in a storm; Albuquerque escaped on an improvised raft.
Why she is remembered One of the most famous lost treasure ships, referenced in Doctor Who (2022) and Uncharted 4 (2016).
The wreck today Never found; Portugal, Indonesia and Malaysia all claim rights.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Francisco Rodrigues Joaquim de Mello, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Portugal
São João Other causes
7 to 8 June 1552 · Near the mouth of the Inhlanhlinhlu River, Port Edward, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (about 31° S)
The ship Great galleon (shiplib) or East India carrack (Heritage Portal) of the Portuguese India route, Portugal
Built 1550, Lisbon
Size About 900 tons
Aboard Over 600 people, about 200 Portuguese and 300 enslaved people (shiplib); or about 500, 180 Portuguese and 320 enslaved (Heritage Portal)
Lives lost About 110 at the stranding; most of the rest on the march overland
Homeward bound from Cochin to Lisbon, she sailed late on 3 February 1552 because of difficulty in buying pepper, richly laden with Asian goods. She stranded on the coast near Port Edward. The survivors, led by captain Manuel de Sousa Sepúlveda with his wife Dona Leonor de Sá and their children, set out on a march of about 600 km to the Maputo River; Leonor, stripped and robbed, buried herself in the sand and died with her children, and Sepúlveda walked into the bush and was never seen again. Only about 21 to 25 people reached safety.
Why she is remembered The most famous story of the História Trágico-Marítima, the 18th century anthology of Portuguese shipwreck narratives edited by Bernardo Gomes de Brito, and an enduring theme of Portuguese literature.
The wreck today Site near Port Edward; finds include a bronze breech-loading swivel gun fragment found in 1980, Jiajing period Ming porcelain (1522 to 1566), Cambay carnelian beads, cowries and peppercorns. A monument with plaques stands on the Port Edward waterfront.
Sources differ Numbers aboard over 600 (200 Portuguese, 300 enslaved) versus about 500 (180 Portuguese, 320 enslaved). Survivors 25 (shiplib) versus 21 (Heritage Portal). March of five and a half months (shiplib) versus about three months (Heritage Portal). Wreck date 7 to 8 June versus 8 June 1552.
Sources shiplib.org · theheritageportal.co.za
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Portugal
São Bento Storm
22 April 1554 · Mouth of the Msikaba River, Transkei coast, South Africa
The ship Portuguese India carrack (nau), Portugal
Built 1551, Lisbon
Size About 900 tons
Aboard About 470 (150 lost plus 322 who reached shore)
Lives lost About 150 at the wreck (44 Portuguese and over 106 enslaved people), and many more on the march
Homeward bound from Cochin under captain-major Fernão d'Álvares Cabral, she was crippled by a violent storm that damaged her helm and rudder and was wrecked at the mouth of the Msikaba River. 322 people reached shore and began a long march north; only about 22 survived to be picked up by a rescue ship on 20 March 1555.
Why she is remembered The survivor Manuel de Mesquita Perestrelo wrote an account of the wreck that was later included in the História Trágico-Marítima.
The wreck today Found in 1968 by sport divers near a rocky islet; 18 bronze cannon, porcelain, gold jewellery, carnelian beads and cowries were recovered and are held by the Natal Museum and the Durban History Museum. No significant hull remains were found.
Sources differ Final survivors given as 22, described as 20 Portuguese and 3 enslaved people (shiplib).
Sources shiplib.org
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Spain (Basque Country)
San Juan Other causes
1565 · Red Bay harbour near Saddle Island, Labrador, Canada
The ship Basque galleon (whaling ship), Spain (Basque Country)
The galleon sank at Red Bay during a Basque whaling expedition to Labrador in 1565. Archival research by Selma Barkham in Spanish records pointed to the loss, and a small whaling boat (chalupa) was found nested beneath the wreck.
Why she is remembered A drawing of the ship was chosen as the logo of the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage; Red Bay Basque Whaling Station became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013.
The wreck today Excavated by Parks Canada's underwater archaeology team under Robert Grenier between 1977 and 1992; part of Red Bay National Historic Site (1979) and the World Heritage Site.
Sources differ Identification as the San Juan is described as believed rather than certain.
Sources parks.canada.ca · Wikipedia
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Spain
San Felipe Storm
19 October 1596 · Urado, Tosa Province, Shikoku, Japan
The ship Manila galleon, Spain
Aboard Captain Matías de Landecho and crew
Left without sails by typhoons, she was forced into Urado by the local daimyo Chōsokabe Motochika and wrecked on a sandbar. Her cargo, worth over a million pesos, was confiscated, and the pilot is said to have shown a map suggesting that missionaries prepared the way for Spanish expansion.
Why she is remembered The San Felipe incident led Hideyoshi to crucify the Twenty Six Martyrs of Japan on 5 February 1597 and to move against missionaries.
The wreck today No information.
Sources differ Sources disagree on whether the pilot's remarks actually caused the confiscation.
Sources Wikipedia
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Portugal
Nossa Senhora dos Mártires Reef and rocks
14 September 1606 · Mouth of the River Tagus near São Julião da Barra, Lisbon
The ship Carrack (nau, Indiaman), Portugal
Built Ribeira das Naus, Lisbon, 1605
Lives lost No loss of life
Seeking a safer anchorage in strong winds at the mouth of the Tagus, she struck a rock and went down suddenly.
Why she is remembered Known as the Pepper Wreck because her black pepper carpeted the river. The only known Portuguese Indiaman of the period not destroyed by treasure hunters (until 2008).
The wreck today Identified in 1993 as site SJB2 and excavated 1996 to 2001; carpenters' marks on the hull allowed reconstruction.
Sources Wikipedia
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · England (Virginia Company)
Sea Venture Storm
25 July 1609 Old Style (3 August New Style) · Sea Venture Shoals, reefs off Bermuda, about 0.5 to 0.75 miles offshore
The ship Galleon, England (Virginia Company)
Built Probably 1603
Size 300 tons, 24 guns
Aboard About 150 (140 men, 10 women and a dog evacuated)
Lives lost None reported in the wreck itself; six died during the stay on Bermuda
Flagship of the Third Supply to Jamestown, she was caught in a hurricane, leaked badly and was deliberately run onto Bermuda's reefs. The castaways lived on Bermuda for nine months, built the pinnaces Deliverance and Patience and reached Jamestown in May 1610 to find the colony near collapse.
Why she is remembered The wreck led to the English settlement of Bermuda, saved Jamestown and is thought to have inspired Shakespeare's The Tempest.
The wreck today Rediscovered in October 1958 by sport divers Downing and Heird and identified in 1959; little remains and the site has been covered with sandbags since 2015 to protect it from shipworm.
Sources differ Survivor numbers vary (150 to 153 per Strachey); unclear whether the 500 to 600 sometimes quoted refers to the whole fleet.
Sources Wikipedia
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Spain
Nuestra Señora de Atocha Storm
6 September 1622 · Off the Florida Keys, Florida Straits, about 30 leagues (140 km) from Havana, in about 17 m of water
The ship Galleon, Spain
Built Havana shipyard, 1620 to 1621
Size 34 m long, 550 toneladas, 20 heavy guns plus 4 to 8 versos
Aboard About 265 crew and passengers
Lives lost All but 5 (three sailors and two slaves who clung to the mizzenmast)
The Atocha sailed from Havana on 4 September 1622 in a 28 ship convoy, six weeks late. A hurricane struck in the Florida Straits and by the morning of 6 September eight ships had sunk, their remains scattered from Marquesas Key to the Dry Tortugas. The Atocha carried roughly 40 tonnes of gold and silver and 32 kg of emeralds.
Why she is remembered One of the richest treasure wrecks ever found, which led to US Supreme Court litigation over salvage rights. The explorer Bartolomé García de Nodal, who had surveyed the Strait of Magellan, died in the disaster.
The wreck today Found in 1985 by Mel Fisher's expedition after 16.5 years of searching. The sterncastle has never been found and is presumed lost.
Sources differ Page gives the complement both as about 265 crew and passengers and as 90 to 110; beam given as 10 m in one place and 34 feet in another.
Sources Wikipedia
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · England (East India Company)
Tryall (Trial) Reef and rocks
25 May 1622 · Tryal Rocks, about 32 km north west of the Montebello Islands, Western Australia, 20°16′18″S 115°23′18″E
The ship East Indiaman, England (East India Company)
Built Launched 1621
Size 500 tons burthen
Aboard 143
Lives lost 93; 50 survived
Following the new southern route to Java, she sailed too far east and struck uncharted submerged rocks. Survivors reached Bantam; Captain John Brooke blamed earlier mapping, while factor Thomas Bright blamed Brooke's navigation and failure to post a lookout.
Why she is remembered Australia's oldest known shipwreck and the first recorded English sighting of Australia.
The wreck today Located in 1969 by divers including John MacPherson, Eric Christiansen and Naoom Haimson; later damaged by an illegal salvage using explosives.
Sources Wikipedia
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Spain
Nuestra Señora del Juncal Storm
1 November 1631 · Gulf of Mexico between Veracruz and Havana, 8 leagues north of Bajo de las Arenas; exact site unknown
The ship Galleon (fleet flagship), Spain
Aboard 335 (also given as 300)
Lives lost All but 35 (also given as 39)
Flagship of a Spanish treasure fleet under Admiral Manuel Serrano, she left Veracruz on 14 October 1631 with over 3.6 million pesos in precious metals and was struck by a storm a week later.
Why she is remembered One of the world's most sought after wrecks; subject of a 2024 book by INAH researchers.
The wreck today Not found despite several searches.
Sources differ Aboard 335 versus 300; survivors 35 versus 39.
Sources Wikipedia
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Spain
Nuestra Señora de la Pura y Limpia Concepción Storm
31 October 1641 · Abrojos coral heads, Silver Bank (Banco de la Plata), about 85 miles north of the Dominican Republic, Atlantic Ocean
The ship Spanish treasure galleon of the New Spain fleet, commanded by Vice Admiral Juan de Villavicencio, Spain
Built Havana, 1620 (Pook and Pook)
Size 140 ft; 36 guns (Pook and Pook)
Aboard About 500 passengers and crew (Pook and Pook gives 496)
Lives lost About 300; fewer than 200 survived (about 190 reached Hispaniola)
Sailing with the 21 ship New Spain fleet for Seville with 100 to 140 tons of silver plus contraband, she left Havana late in the hurricane season. A two day hurricane off Florida left her badly damaged, and on the eve of All Saints she ran onto the Abrojos reefs of the Silver Bank. About 190 survivors reached Hispaniola; many others perished on rafts.
Why she is remembered In 1687 William Phips salvaged about 32 tons of treasure from her, earning a knighthood and later the governorship of Massachusetts. Burt Webber rediscovered her in 1978 using the log of Phips's voyage.
The wreck today Relocated by Burt Webber's expedition on 26 November 1978, with treasure recovered then valued at about 13 million dollars, including Mexico City 8, 4 and 2 reales coins.
Sources differ Fleet departure given as Vera Cruz 20 September 1641 (Pook and Pook) versus Havana 13 September (Times of the Islands, which also says the fleet sailed in 1640). Hurricane date 28 September (Pook and Pook).
Sources timespub.tc · pookandpook.com · newenglandhistoricalsociety.com
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · France
Le Griffon Missing
Disappeared after 18 September 1679 · Upper Great Lakes (Lake Michigan or Lake Huron); exact site unknown
The ship Barque, France
Built 1679 by La Salle at or near Cayuga Island, Niagara River
Size About 45 tons, 30 to 40 ft long, seven cannon
Aboard 6 crew
Lives lost All 6
Built by La Salle, she sailed through Lakes Erie, Huron and Michigan and left Green Bay with furs on 18 September 1679, then vanished.
Why she is remembered Called the first full sized sailing vessel on the upper Great Lakes and the holy grail of Great Lakes shipwrecks. SHIPS OF DISCOVERY overlap.
The wreck today Never confirmed despite more than 22 claimed finds; in 2022 Michigan's state maritime archaeologist said the Griffon has not been found.
Sources differ Cause disputed: storm, pilot error, sabotage or mutiny.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Father Louis Hennepin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · England
HMS Sussex Storm
1 March 1694 (Gregorian); 19 February 1693/4 (Julian) · Off Gibraltar, Strait of Gibraltar, about 800 m deep
The ship Third rate ship of the line, 80 guns, England
Built Chatham Dockyard, launched 11 April 1693
Size 157 ft 2 in long, 1,263 tons burthen, 80 guns
Aboard About 500, with Admiral Sir Francis Wheler
Lives lost All but two; about 1,200 across 13 ships of the fleet
Wheler's flagship was caught with her fleet by a violent storm near the Strait of Gibraltar and foundered. She was thought to carry perhaps 10 tons of gold coins.
Why she is remembered One of the Royal Navy's worst storm losses and a disputed deep water treasure site.
The wreck today Located by Odyssey Marine Exploration from 1998 to 2001; a 2002 profit sharing deal with the British government was followed by Spanish objections, and Spain cancelled cooperation in 2007.
Sources Wikipedia
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · England (registered in London; built in France)
Henrietta Marie Reef and rocks
1700 (possibly 1701 or later) · New Ground Reef near the Marquesas Keys, about 35 miles west of Key West, Florida
The ship Slave ship, England (registered in London; built in France)
Built 17th century, in France
Size 120 tons burthen, 60 to 80 ft long
Aboard About 18 crew
Lives lost All; there were no survivors
After delivering 191 Africans to Port Royal, Jamaica, she was carrying Caribbean goods back to England when she wrecked on the reef off the Florida Keys.
Why she is remembered One of the few slave ship wrecks ever identified; the National Association of Black Scuba Divers placed a memorial plaque on the site in 1993.
The wreck today Found in 1972 by a Mel Fisher company survey, excavated 1983 to 1985 (over 7,000 artefacts); permanent exhibit at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, Key West, since November 2024.
Sources differ Date: 1700 versus possibly 1701 or later.
Sources Wikipedia
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Great Britain
HMS Association Reef and rocks
22 October 1707 (Julian), 2 November 1707 (Gregorian) · Isles of Scilly, Cornwall
The ship Second rate ship of the line, 90 guns, Great Britain
Size 90 guns
Aboard About 800
Lives lost Entire crew including Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell; between 1,400 and 2,000 died across the fleet
Shovell's fleet was unable to fix its position accurately, with faulty charts and compasses, and struck the rocks of Scilly. Association, Eagle, Romney and the fireship Firebrand were lost; Shovell's body washed ashore at Porthellick Cove and he was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Why she is remembered One of the worst disasters in British naval history; it may have contributed to the Longitude Act of 1714 and the Board of Longitude.
The wreck today Found in June 1967 by divers from HMS Puttenham under Roy Graham; more than 2,000 coins were auctioned at Sotheby's in 1969. The site is protected under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973.
Sources differ Fleet deaths given as between 1,400 and 2,000. Wikipedia notes the error was in latitude more than longitude, so the popular longitude link is disputed.
Sources Wikipedia
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Spain
San José War
8 June 1708 · Caribbean Sea off Cartagena, Colombia, near the Barú peninsula
The ship Spanish galleon, flagship of a treasure fleet, Spain
Built Launched 1698; designed by Francisco Antonio Garrote, built by Pedro de Aróstegui (military-history.fandom)
Size About 150 ft long, 45 ft beam; 1,200 tons burden; 60 to 64 guns
Aboard About 600
Lives lost About 600; only eleven survived (military-history.fandom)
Flagship of General José Fernández de Santillán, Count of Casa Alegre, she was sailing from Portobelo to Cartagena with a treasure fleet during the War of the Spanish Succession when a British squadron under Commodore Charles Wager attacked. During the battle, known as Wager's Action, her powder magazine exploded and she sank almost at once with gold, silver and emeralds from the mines of Peru.
Why she is remembered Called the 'holy grail of shipwrecks' for a cargo valued at between 1 billion and 18 billion dollars in various estimates, she is the subject of claims by Colombia, Spain, the US company Sea Search Armada and the Qhara Qhara people of Bolivia.
The wreck today Found on 27 November 2015 by the Colombian Navy with a REMUS 6000 autonomous vehicle and announced by President Juan Manuel Santos on 5 December 2015; identified by bronze cannon decorated with dolphins. Lies at about 600 m (about 2,000 ft); position classified. Colombia declared her state property and in 2025 raised the first objects, a bronze cannon, coins and porcelain cups, for a future museum.
Sources differ Guns: 60 (fandom), 62 (Live Science), 64 (Maine Public/NPR). Depth over 800 ft (Maine Public, 2015) versus about 2,000 ft (Live Science). Value estimates: 1 billion dollars (2012), 4 to 17 billion, about 18 billion (2018 dollars).
Sources livescience.com · mainepublic.org · military-history.fandom.com · whoi.edu
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Spain
Urca de Lima Storm
31 July 1715 · Off the east coast of Florida
The ship Urca (cargo ship) of the 1715 Treasure Fleet, Spain
Lives lost For the whole fleet, around 1,500 sailors perished according to Cuban records
The Urca de Lima, also called Santissima Trinidad, was one of eleven Spanish ships of the 1715 Treasure Fleet which left Havana and seven days later, at 2 a.m. on 31 July 1715, were all wrecked by a hurricane off Florida. Only the French frigate Le Grifon, sailing further out, escaped.
Why she is remembered The 1715 Fleet is Florida's best known treasure wreck site: Kip Wagner found the first treasure in 1961, $4.5 million in gold coins were found off Vero Beach on the 300th anniversary in 2015, and further coins were recovered in 2025.
The wreck today The Urca de Lima became Florida's first underwater archaeological preserve in 1987.
Sources Wikipedia
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Great Britain, then pirates under Samuel Bellamy
Whydah Gally Storm
26 April 1717 · Off Wellfleet, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 41°53′31″N 69°57′34″W
The ship Galley (three masted, square rigged slave ship turned pirate ship), Great Britain, then pirates under Samuel Bellamy
Built London, launched 1716
Size 110 ft long, 300 tons burthen, 18 guns, increased to 28 by the pirates
Aboard About 146
Lives lost 144; two men survived
Built as a slave ship for Sir Humphrey Morice, she carried about 500 enslaved Africans on her maiden voyage before Black Sam Bellamy captured her in February 1717. Two months later a nor'easter drove her onto a sandbar off Cape Cod, where she capsized and broke up.
Why she is remembered The only fully authenticated wreck of a Golden Age pirate ship, confirmed in 1985 by her inscribed bell.
The wreck today Found in 1984 by Barry Clifford in 14 to 16 ft of water under sand; over 200,000 artefacts recovered, shown at the Whydah Pirate Museum, West Yarmouth, and the Real Pirates Museum, Salem.
Sources Wikipedia
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Spain
Conde de Tolosa Storm
25 August 1724 · Samaná Bay, Dominican Republic, in about 40 ft of water
The ship Galleon (quicksilver galleon), Spain
Size 1,500 tons
Aboard 600 (350 of them officials, sailors and soldiers)
Lives lost Almost all; seven survivors clung to the mainmast for 32 days
Sailing with the Guadalupe and carrying 150 tons of mercury, she drifted onto the breakers in a hurricane and was smashed against rocks and coral.
Why she is remembered One of the two quicksilver galleons lost in 1724; seven survivors held on to the mainmast for 32 days.
The wreck today Found and salvaged in the 1970s; some artefacts held by the Dominican underwater cultural heritage authority.
Sources underwaterscience.indiana.edu
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Spain
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Storm
25 August 1724 · Samaná Bay, Dominican Republic, in about 20 ft of water
The ship Galleon (quicksilver galleon), Spain
Built 1702
Size 1,000 tons, 74 guns
Aboard 600
Lives lost Many drowned
Carrying about 250 tons of mercury (quicksilver), with a special double iron frame for that cargo, she was forced onto reefs in Samaná Bay by a sudden shift of wind in a hurricane, together with the Conde de Tolosa.
Why she is remembered Her site is the centre of the Dominican Republic's first underwater shipwreck museum.
The wreck today Undisturbed until found in the 1970s; part of the Guadalupe Underwater Archaeological Preserve (2004), inaugurated as a Living Museum of the Sea in 2011.
Sources underwaterscience.indiana.edu
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Great Britain
HMS Wager Reef and rocks
Also known as Wager (East Indiaman)
14 May 1741 · Wager Island, Guayaneco Archipelago, Gulf of Penas, Chile, 47°40′43″S 75°02′57″W
The ship Sixth rate warship, ex East Indiaman, Great Britain
Built Buxton, Rotherhithe, launched 1734
Size 123 ft gundeck, 559 tons burthen, 28 guns
Aboard About 120 when she left England
Lives lost Some drowned in the wreck; after more than five years only some of Bulkeley's group and four of Captain Cheap's group returned to England
Part of Anson's 1740 expedition against Spain, the Wager became separated after Cape Horn and wrecked on an uncharted island. Discipline collapsed into mutiny: gunner John Bulkeley led 81 men home by boat through the Strait of Magellan, while Captain Cheap and Midshipman John Byron stayed behind.
Why she is remembered Under the rules of the time the loss of the ship ended the crew's pay and the officers' authority, which fed the mutiny and the later controversy. Retold by Patrick O'Brian (The Unknown Shore) and in David Grann's bestseller The Wager (2023).
The wreck today Hull remains found in shallow water at Wager Island in 2006 by the Scientific Exploration Society.
Sources differ Tonnage 551 versus 558 burthen. Note: a warship but lost by wreck, not enemy action.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Charles Brooking, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Dutch Republic (VOC)
Hollandia Reef and rocks
13 July 1743 · Gunner Rock near Annet, Isles of Scilly
The ship VOC ship (full rigged), Dutch Republic (VOC)
Built Amsterdam dockyard, 1742
Size 42 m long, 700 tons burthen, 32 guns
Aboard Crew, soldiers and several important passengers
Lives lost 306, all aboard (276 sailors and soldiers, 30 passengers)
On her maiden voyage from Texel to Batavia with a cargo of coin, she became separated from the fleet, struck Gunner Rock in the early morning and sank nearby.
Why she is remembered A major VOC loss in English waters with a rich coin cargo.
The wreck today Found in 1971 by Rex Cowan; coins, bronze cannon and mortars recovered.
Sources Wikipedia
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Great Britain
HMS Victory (1737) Storm
4 to 5 October 1744 · Western English Channel, about 49°42.5′N 3°3.33′W, about 100 m deep
The ship First rate ship of the line, 100 guns, Great Britain
Built Portsmouth Dockyard, launched 23 February 1737
Size 174 ft gundeck, 1,921 tons burthen, 100 bronze guns
Aboard Complement about 900 (also given as 1,150 or about 1,100)
Lives lost All aboard
Admiral Sir John Balchen's flagship was returning to England when a storm on 3 October 1744 scattered the fleet. She was long believed lost on the Casquets but went down far from there.
Why she is remembered The last British first rate armed entirely with bronze guns, possibly carrying about £400,000 in bullion from Lisbon.
The wreck today Found in May 2008 by Odyssey Marine Exploration more than 80 km from the supposed site. Still British Government property; plans for commercial recovery were controversial because it is a naval grave.
Sources differ Crew lost: about 900 complement versus 1,150 (Wikipedia ship article) versus about 1,100 (List of shipwrecks in 1744).
Sources Wikipedia
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Sweden (Swedish East India Company)
Götheborg Reef and rocks
12 September 1745 · Knipla Börö rock at the approach to Gothenburg, Sweden, about 900 m from her berth
The ship East Indiaman, Sweden (Swedish East India Company)
Built Terra Nova shipyard, Stockholm, launched 1738
Size About 830 tons, initial crew of 144
Aboard Commanded by Captain Eric Moréen with pilot Caspar Matthisson
Lives lost None; all sailors survived
Returning from the Swedish East India Company's third voyage to China laden with tea, porcelain, spices and silk, she struck a well known rock in fair weather only 900 m from her berth. Part of the cargo was salvaged before she sank.
Why she is remembered Her loss so close to port is a famous puzzle; one theory is the dead water effect from heavy fresh water run off. A sailing replica, Götheborg, was begun in 1995, launched in 2003 and completed her maiden voyage in 2007.
The wreck today Rediscovered in December 1984 and excavated 1986 to 1992, recovering 5,750 artefacts (about 10 percent of the cargo).
Sources differ Exact cause of the grounding unclear.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Frankie Fouganthin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Dutch Republic (VOC)
Amsterdam Storm
26 January 1749 · Bulverhythe, near Hastings, English Channel, 50°50′48.84″N 0°31′27.41″E
The ship East Indiaman (spiegelretourschip), Dutch Republic (VOC)
Built Amsterdam, 1748, of oak
Size 48 m long, 1,100 tons, 42 guns
Aboard 335 (203 crew, 127 soldiers, 5 passengers)
Bound for Batavia, the Amsterdam struggled against westerly gales in the Channel, with disease and mutiny aboard, and lost her rudder. She was run aground in the bay at Bulverhythe and sank into the mud.
Why she is remembered The best preserved VOC ship ever found, with several decks still intact in the mud; a full replica (1985 to 1990) lies at the National Maritime Museum, Amsterdam.
The wreck today Exposed at low spring tide and identified in 1969; designated a Protected Wreck in 1974 and excavated 1984 to 1986. Still owned by the Dutch state and visible at very low tides; finds at the Shipwreck Museum, Hastings.
Sources Wikipedia
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Dutch Republic (VOC, Zeeland chamber)
Geldermalsen Reef and rocks
3 January 1752 · Reef south west of Batam island, South China Sea
The ship East Indiaman, Dutch Republic (VOC, Zeeland chamber)
Built VOC chamber of Zeeland; maiden voyage 1748
Size 150 ft (45.7 m) long, 42 ft wide, 1,150 tons, 26 guns
Aboard 300
Lives lost 80 including the skipper; 32 survived
Homeward bound from Canton with tea, silk, porcelain and gold bars, she ran onto a reef, lost masts and rudder, capsized and sank.
Why she is remembered Her porcelain, sold as the Nanking Cargo at Christie's Amsterdam in 1986 for over £10 million, became a byword for treasure hunting that destroys archaeology.
The wreck today Salvaged by Michael Hatcher in 1985; the site is destroyed. Some finds are in Dutch museums.
Sources differ 300 people are given as aboard, but 80 lost and 32 survivors, figures that do not add up.
Sources mass.cultureelerfgoed.nl
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Great Britain (East India Company)
Doddington Reef and rocks
17 July 1755 · Bird Island, Algoa Bay, near Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa
The ship East Indiaman, Great Britain (East India Company)
Size 499 tons burthen (declared)
Aboard 270 crew and passengers
Lives lost 247; 23 survived
Heading east north east at 1 a.m., she struck a rock at Bird Island. The 23 survivors lived for seven months on fish, birds and eggs and built a sloop, the Happy Deliverance, in which they escaped on 16 February 1756.
Why she is remembered She carried gold known as Clive of India's gold; about 1,200 coins were looted by modern treasure hunters, and after a four year legal fight a third were returned to South Africa. The case influenced the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.
The wreck today Looted in modern times.
Sources Wikipedia
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · France
Utile Reef and rocks
31 July 1761 · Tromelin Island, Indian Ocean
The ship Frigate of the French East India Company, France
Aboard 142 crew and 160 enslaved Malagasy
Lives lost Many enslaved people locked in the hold drowned; about 60 Malagasy reached the island
Carrying enslaved people from Foulpointe, Madagascar, she ran onto the reef after a navigation error from two conflicting charts. The crew built a boat, the Providence, and left on 27 September 1761 with 122 sailors, abandoning the Malagasy on the island.
Why she is remembered The castaways survived for 15 years until Ensign Tromelin on the corvette Dauphine rescued seven women and an eight month old child on 29 November 1776. Subject of the 2016 to 2017 exhibition Tromelin, the island of forgotten slaves.
The wreck today Studied by archaeological missions led by Max Guérout and Thomas Romon in 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2013.
Sources Wikipedia
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Great Britain
HMS Endeavour Scuttled
Also known as Earl of Pembroke; later renamed Lord Sandwich
Scuttled 4 August 1778 · Newport Harbor, Rhode Island, Narragansett Bay
The ship Bark (ex Whitby collier, full rigged), Great Britain
Built Thomas Fishburn, Whitby, launched June 1764
Size 97 ft 8 in long (some sources 106 ft), 366 tons burthen, 10 four pounders and 12 swivels
After Cook's voyage she was renamed Lord Sandwich. During the American War of Independence she was deliberately scuttled in Newport Harbor as part of a British blockade of the bay.
Why she is remembered Captain James Cook's ship on his first voyage of discovery (1768 to 1771): the 1769 transit of Venus, New Zealand and the east coast of Australia. Replicas in Sydney, Whitby and elsewhere. SHIPS OF DISCOVERY overlap.
The wreck today The Australian National Maritime Museum announced identification in February 2022 (disputed as premature by RIMAP); ANMM and RIMAP released a final report confirming her identity in June 2025. The remains are being eaten by shipworm.
Sources differ Length 97 ft 8 in versus 106 ft. Identification of the wreck was disputed between ANMM and RIMAP before 2025.
Sources Wikipedia
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Great Britain
HMS Royal George Other causes
29 August 1782 · Spithead, off Portsmouth
The ship First rate ship of the line, 100 guns, Great Britain
Built Woolwich Dockyard, launched 18 February 1756
Size 178 ft gundeck, 2,047 tons burthen, 100 guns
Aboard About 1,200, including visitors
Lives lost Around 900 including up to 300 women and 60 children (also given as more than 800); 255 survived
While heeled over at anchor for hull repairs, she rolled too far, water entered her open gunports and she sank. Rear Admiral Kempenfelt died in his cabin.
Why she is remembered One of the worst losses in a British port, mourned in William Cowper's poem beginning Toll for the brave.
The wreck today Cleared by Charles Pasley's salvage from 1839 to 1843; bronze from her guns went into Nelson's Column and timbers became souvenirs.
Sources differ Deaths: around 900 versus more than 800 on the same page.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: John Cleveley the Elder, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Great Britain (East India Company)
Halsewell Storm
6 January 1786 · Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, between Seacombe and Winspit quarries, 50°35′21″N 2°01′14″W
The ship East Indiaman, three masted full rigged ship, Great Britain (East India Company)
Built Wells, launched 1778
Size 139.5 ft long, 758 tons burthen (one source 776)
Aboard More than 240 crew and passengers
Lives lost About 166; 74 survived
Outbound for India, she was dismasted in a snowstorm in the Channel and driven against the cliffs of Purbeck, where she broke up in less than an hour at the mouth of a cave. Quarrymen hauled survivors up the cliff with ropes.
Why she is remembered Among the most famous wrecks of its day: painted by J.M.W. Turner, staged in Loutherbourg's Eidophusikon, written about by Dickens (The Long Voyage) and visited by George III.
The wreck today Cannons and coins recovered in 1967; finds in Dorchester museum and Worth Matravers church; part of the Adopt a Wreck scheme.
Sources differ Tonnage 758 versus 776.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: J. M. W. Turner, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Spain
San Pedro de Alcántara Reef and rocks
2 February 1786, about 22:30 · Rocks of the Papoa peninsula, Peniche, Portugal (Atlantic)
The ship Spanish warship of 64 guns, Spain
Built Built in Cuba of mahogany by a British naval builder (lisboa-e-o-tejo blog)
Size 64 guns
Lives lost 128
Sailing from Callao, Peru, to Cádiz with over 150 tons of gold and silver coin, more than 600 tons of copper, 100 tons of cinchona (quinine) bark and 6.5 tons of cocoa, she struck the rocks of Papoa at night. Among the 128 dead were 17 indigenous Peruvian political prisoners, men, women and children linked to the Túpac Amaru rebellion. In the following months about 40 European divers hired by the Spanish Crown recovered almost all the treasure, raising the hull by June 1786 and towing it to the beach at Peniche.
Why she is remembered The salvage was a technical triumph reported month after month in European newspapers, and Jean-Baptiste Pillement painted the wreck and the rescue operations in 1786.
The wreck today Site identified between 1984 and 1999 by archaeologists Jean-Yves Blot and Maria Luísa Blot, who also found the burial place of victims; virtually nothing of the ship remains on the seabed. The site is part of a Peniche municipal tourist route at Papoa; the freighter João Diogo was wrecked at the same spot in 1963.
Sources cm-peniche.pt · lisboa-e-o-tejo.blogspot.com
Image: Jean-Baptiste Pillement, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Great Britain
HMS Bounty Fire
Also known as Bethia
Burned 23 January 1790 · Bounty Bay, Pitcairn Island, South Pacific
The ship Armed vessel, ex merchant collier, full rigged, Great Britain
Built Reputedly Blaydes yard, Hull, 1784
Size 90 ft 10 in long, 215 to 220 tons burthen, 4 four pounders and 10 swivels
Aboard 46 at the mutiny
Bought in 1787 for William Bligh's breadfruit voyage to Tahiti, the Bounty was seized by Fletcher Christian's mutineers on 28 April 1789. They settled on remote Pitcairn and burned the ship to avoid discovery.
Why she is remembered The Mutiny on the Bounty, retold in many books and in films of 1935, 1962 and 1984, each with a replica ship. Also an explorer voyage of the breadfruit expeditions.
The wreck today Rediscovered in January 1957 by Luis Marden; rudder pin, fittings, an anchor and cannon recovered, ballast stones remain in Bounty Bay.
Sources Wikipedia
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Great Britain
HMS Sirius Reef and rocks
Also known as Berwick
19 March 1790 · Reef at Norfolk Island, 29°03′37″S 167°57′18″E
The ship Sloop of war (ex merchantman), Great Britain
Built Christopher Watson and Co., Rotherhithe, 1780
Size 110 ft 5 in gundeck, 512 tons burthen, 4 six pounders and 6 carronades
Lives lost None stated; the crew were stranded until February 1791
Flagship of the First Fleet that founded the colony at Port Jackson in 1788, Sirius was wrecked on the reef at Norfolk Island while landing supplies.
Why she is remembered The First Fleet's flagship, which founded the colony at Port Jackson; she also carried the Larcum Kendall chronometer used by Cook.
The wreck today Protected under the Historic Shipwrecks Act and on the National Heritage List; relics in the Norfolk Island Museum, the Australian National Maritime Museum and the Powerhouse Museum.
Sources Wikipedia
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Great Britain
HMS Pandora Reef and rocks
Struck 28 or 29 August 1791, sank the next morning · Outer Great Barrier Reef near Torres Strait, about 5 km north west of Moulter Cay, 11°23′S 143°59′E, 30 to 33 m deep
The ship Porcupine class sixth rate post ship, 24 guns, Great Britain
Built Adams and Barnard, Deptford, launched 17 May 1779
Size 114 ft 7 in long overall, 524 tons burthen, 24 guns
Aboard 134 crew plus 14 Bounty mutineers as prisoners
Lives lost 35 (31 crew and 4 mutineers) in the wreck; 16 more died later; only 78 of the 134 crew returned home
Sent to hunt down the Bounty mutineers, Pandora captured 14 of them and held them in a cramped 11 by 18 ft deck cell known as Pandora's Box. On the way home she ran onto the outer Great Barrier Reef and sank.
Why she is remembered Linked to the Bounty story, and one of the most significant wrecks in the Southern Hemisphere.
The wreck today Found on 15 November 1977 by Ben Cropp, Steve Domm and John Heyer; protected under the Historic Shipwrecks Act and excavated 1983 to 1999. About 30 percent of the hull survives; finds at the Museum of Tropical Queensland, Townsville.
Sources differ Page gives the wreck date as 28 August in one place and running aground on 29 August in another.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Robert Batty, after a sketch by Peter Heywood, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Portugal
São José Paquete de Africa Reef and rocks
27 December 1794 · Off Clifton and Camps Bay, Cape Town, South Africa, about 100 m from shore
The ship Slave ship, Portugal
Aboard 512 enslaved Mozambicans loaded (also given as 400 to 500) plus crew
Lives lost 212 of the enslaved people
Sailing from Mozambique to Brazil, the ship struck submerged rocks off the Cape and broke apart. The captain and crew were rescued; the surviving Africans were sold in the Cape Colony.
Why she is remembered The first wreck found of a slave ship that sank with enslaved people aboard; central to the Slave Wrecks Project.
The wreck today Found by divers in the 1980s but misidentified; confirmed in 2015 by the Smithsonian, Iziko Museums and the Slave Wrecks Project. Finds shown at Iziko's Slave Lodge and the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Sources differ Aboard: 512 loaded versus 400 to 500.
Sources Wikipedia
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · British India (Calcutta)
Sydney Cove Other causes
9 February 1797 · Preservation Island, Furneaux Group, Bass Strait, north of Tasmania, 3 to 6 m deep
The ship Bengal country ship, British India (Calcutta)
Built Calcutta
Size 250 tons burthen
Aboard Master Gavin Hamilton with European seamen and Indian lascars
Lives lost Of 17 men who set out to walk for help, only 3 reached safety
She sprang a leak in heavy seas that pumping could not control and was run aground on Preservation Island. On 28 February 1797 seventeen men set out for Port Jackson and walked over 600 km; only three reached Wattamolla by 15 May 1797.
Why she is remembered The walkers found coal at Coalcliff and the episode pointed to the existence of Bass Strait. Yeast from her beer bottles was used in 2018 to brew Preservation Ale.
The wreck today Located in 1977 and excavated; finds in the Queen Victoria Museum, Launceston, including what is called the world's oldest bottle of beer.
Sources Wikipedia
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · France, then Great Britain from 1793
HMS Lutine Storm
Also known as La Lutine
9 October 1799 · Vlie sandbank off Vlieland, West Frisian Islands, Netherlands, North Sea
The ship Magicienne class frigate (fifth rate), France, then Great Britain from 1793
Built Toulon, 1779
Size 32 guns, later rated 38
Aboard About 240
Lives lost All but one
Carrying about £1.2 million in bullion and coin, she was driven by a north westerly gale, unexpected leeway and the tidal stream onto the Vlie sandbank and wrecked.
Why she is remembered Her bell, the Lutine Bell, was salvaged and hangs at Lloyd's of London, where it is rung on ceremonial occasions.
The wreck today Repeatedly buried and uncovered by sand; salvage attempts into the 20th century recovered only part of the cargo, and over 80 percent is said to remain.
Sources Wikipedia
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Spain
Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes Explosion
5 October 1804 · Off the south coast of Portugal
The ship Frigate (36 guns), Spain
Built Launched at Havana, 1786
Size 36 guns
Lives lost About 250 Spanish crewmen (a cited note gives 265, including 23 civilians)
Sailing from Montevideo to Cádiz with silver, gold and colonial goods, the Mercedes and her squadron were intercepted by a Royal Navy force under Graham Moore while Spain and Britain were at peace. Commander José de Bustamante y Guerra refused to divert to a British port, and in the action a single shot hit the Mercedes' magazine and she blew up.
Why she is remembered Seen in Spain as its equivalent of USS Arizona, the loss helped bring Spain into war with Britain. The modern salvage of her treasure set a legal precedent for sovereign rights over wrecks.
The wreck today Found in 2007 by Odyssey Marine Exploration (code name Black Swan), which raised nearly 500,000 coins. Spain won the case in US courts in 2012 and the treasure went to the National Museum of Underwater Archaeology, Cartagena. A 2015 Spanish expedition found damage caused by the salvage.
Sources differ Lives lost: 250 in the text versus 265 (including 23 civilians) in a cited note. Note: sunk by gunfire in peacetime, so on the border of a war loss.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Francis Sartorius, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Great Britain (East India Company)
Earl of Abergavenny Reef and rocks
5 February 1805 · Shambles reef, Weymouth Bay, off Portland; wreck lies in 16 m of water under 3 km off Weymouth beach
The ship East Indiaman, Great Britain (East India Company)
Built Northfleet, Kent, launched 1796
Size One of the largest East Indiamen built, 32 guns
Aboard 402
Lives lost 263; 90 to 100 survived
Outbound from Portsmouth on her fifth voyage, she struck the Shambles through the pilot's incompetence, was refloated, then sank as Captain John Wordsworth tried to reach the beach. He stayed at his post and went down with the ship.
Why she is remembered The captain was the brother of the poet William Wordsworth. She carried a cargo valued at £200,000, including £70,000 in specie; painted by Thomas Luny.
The wreck today Specie salvaged by 1807 and the wreck blown up in 1812. Surveyed by the Weymouth LUNAR Society; scheduled as a monument by Historic England in August 2024.
Sources Wikipedia
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Great Britain (East India Company)
Admiral Gardner Storm
25 January 1809 · Goodwin Sands, off South Foreland, Kent
The ship East Indiaman, three decks, Great Britain (East India Company)
Built Melhuish, Limehouse, launched 12 April 1797
Size 145 ft 8 in long, 813 to 852 tons burthen
Aboard About 100 crew
Lives lost Three (or five) crew
On her sixth voyage, with a cargo that included copper cash coins minted by Matthew Boulton for India, a gale tore her from her moorings and drove her onto the Goodwin Sands.
Why she is remembered Her cargo of East India Company copper coins.
The wreck today Found in 1984; coins salvaged in 1985. Designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act in 1985 and managed by Historic England.
Sources differ Lost: three versus five.
Sources Wikipedia
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · France
Méduse (Medusa) Reef and rocks
Grounded 2 July 1816, abandoned 5 July 1816 · Bank of Arguin, off Mauritania, about 50 km offshore
The ship Pallas class frigate, France
Built Crucy yard, Paimboeuf, launched 1 July 1810
Size 46.93 m long, 1,080 tonnes, 40 to 46 guns
Aboard About 400
Lives lost Of 147 put on the raft only 15 were alive when rescued, and 5 of those died soon after
Carrying officials to retake Senegal, she ran aground through the inept navigation of Captain de Chaumareys. 147 people were put on an improvised raft, and 13 days of starvation, drunken violence and cannibalism followed before the brig Argus found it on 17 July 1816.
Why she is remembered Géricault's painting The Raft of the Medusa (Louvre) and the survivors' book made it a national scandal against the restored Bourbon monarchy.
The wreck today Located in 1980 by a French expedition led by Jean-Yves Blot; finds shown at the Musée national de la Marine, Paris.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Jean-Jérôme Baugean, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · United States (Nantucket)
Essex Other causes
20 November 1820 · South Pacific, about 2,000 nautical miles west of South America
The ship Whaleship, United States (Nantucket)
Built Amesbury, Massachusetts, launched 1799
Size 87 ft 7 in long, 238 tons burthen
Aboard 20
Lives lost 12 died; 8 survived (including 3 rescued later from Henderson Island)
A large sperm whale rammed the Essex twice and she sank. The crew spent about three months in open whaleboats and the survivors resorted to cannibalism before rescue in February 1821.
Why she is remembered First mate Owen Chase's account inspired Melville's Moby-Dick; retold in Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea, filmed in 2015.
The wreck today Never found.
Sources Wikipedia
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · China
Tek Sing Reef and rocks
6 February 1822 · Belvedere Shoals, Gaspar Strait, South China Sea
The ship Three masted ocean going junk, China
Size 50 m long, 10 m wide, 800 to 900 tons burden, mainmast 27 m
Aboard About 1,800 (200 crew and about 1,600 passengers)
Lives lost About 1,500 per UNESCO; about 190 rescued by the Indiana and 18 by a junk
Carrying porcelain and emigrants from Amoy to Batavia, her captain tried a shortcut through the Gaspar Strait and she ran aground on a reef and sank.
Why she is remembered Called the Titanic of the East for the scale of the loss of life.
The wreck today Found on 12 May 1999 by Michael Hatcher; about 350,000 porcelain pieces were raised and auctioned in Stuttgart in 2000. Human remains were left undisturbed.
Sources Wikipedia
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Great Britain (East India Company)
Kent Fire
1 March 1825 · Bay of Biscay
The ship East Indiaman, Great Britain (East India Company)
Built Launched 1820
Aboard 641
Lives lost 81
A candle ignited spirits leaking from a displaced cask in the hold and fire spread through the ship. The brigantine Cambria, carrying Cornish miners, took off about 550 people before the Kent's magazine exploded at 2 a.m.; the survivors were landed at Falmouth.
Why she is remembered A celebrated rescue at sea, painted by William Daniell and Théodore Gudin and the subject of a William McGonagall poem.
Sources differ The total is given as 641, but the breakdown given (344 soldiers of the 31st Foot, 43 women and 66 children, 20 passengers and 148 crew) does not add up to it.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: William John Huggins, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · United Kingdom
Amphitrite Storm
31 August 1833 · Off Boulogne-sur-Mer, France (English Channel)
The ship Convict transport (female convict ship), United Kingdom
Aboard 108 female convicts, 12 children and a crew of 13 (136 souls)
Lives lost 133; only three crew survived
She left London (Woolwich) on 25 August 1833 for New South Wales with women prisoners and their children. Within a week a storm drove her ashore off Boulogne, in sight of hundreds of onlookers. Captain John Hunter refused offers of help from the shore, reportedly from fear that the prisoners would escape, and the ship broke up with almost everyone aboard.
Why she is remembered A sensation in the British press and the subject of an Admiralty investigation. J. M. W. Turner's unfinished 'A Disaster at Sea' (about 1835, Tate) is associated with the wreck, and Andrew Jampoler's book 'Horrible Shipwreck!' tells the story.
The wreck today Broken up on the shore at Boulogne in 1833; no wreck survives.
Sources femaleconvicts.org.au · usni.org · thehistoryofart.org
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · United Kingdom
Neva Reef and rocks
13 May 1835 · Reef off King Island, Bass Strait, Tasmania; exact reef disputed
The ship Three masted barque (convict transport), United Kingdom
Built Bunney and Firbank, Hull, 1813
Size 104 ft 4 in long, 27 ft 1 in beam, 327 to 333 tons burthen
Aboard 239
Lives lost 224; 15 survived
On her second convict voyage to Australia she struck an uncharted reef. Twenty two people reached King Island on rafts, but seven died of exposure; the inquiry blamed the currents and cleared Captain Peck.
Why she is remembered One of the worst shipwrecks in Australian history, almost all its victims being women convicts and children.
The wreck today Location uncertain; a memorial plaque is at the Tasmanian Seafarers' Memorial, Triabunna.
Sources differ Wreck site: Harbinger Reefs versus Navarine Reefs versus an uncharted reef west of King Island. The total is given as 239, but the breakdown given (26 crew, 150 female convicts with 33 children, 9 free women with 22 children) does not add up to it.
Sources Wikipedia
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · United Kingdom
Forfarshire Reef and rocks
7 September 1838 · Big Harcar rock, Outer Farne Islands, Northumberland, North Sea
The ship Side paddle steamship with brigantine rig, United Kingdom
Built Dundee, launched 1834
Size 132 ft long, 20 ft beam, 270 GRT
Aboard 61 passengers and crew
Lives lost 43
On passage from Hull to Dundee her boilers leaked and the engines failed in a gale, and she was driven onto the rocks of Big Harcar.
Why she is remembered Lighthouse keeper's daughter Grace Darling and her father William rowed out and rescued nine survivors, making Grace a national heroine and earning both an RNLI Silver Medal.
The wreck today Scattered remains lie at Piper Gut, 7 to 22 m deep, mixed with other wrecks; her nameplate is at the Olde Ship Inn, Seahouses.
Sources differ First inquest blamed the boilers and the captain's negligence; a second blamed the weather.
Sources Wikipedia
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · United States
William Brown Ice
19 April 1841 · North Atlantic, about 250 miles south east of Cape Race, Newfoundland
The ship Sailing ship (emigrant ship), United States
Aboard 82 (17 crew, 65 passengers)
Lives lost 31 passengers went down with the ship; from the overloaded longboat 12 men were forced out, two women also went into the water and two more men were thrown out next morning
The ship struck an iceberg at night. In the overcrowded longboat seamen including Alexander Holmes forced passengers into the sea to keep it afloat; all the crew stayed aboard.
Why she is remembered United States v. Holmes (1842) became a landmark case on the defence of necessity; Holmes was convicted of manslaughter. Inspired the film Abandon Ship! (1957).
Sources Wikipedia
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Treasure Fleets and the Age of Sail · Great Britain (registered Liverpool)
Cataraqui Storm
4 August 1845 · Off King Island, Bass Strait, Tasmania
The ship Barque (emigrant ship), Great Britain (registered Liverpool)
Built Quebec, 1840, by Williams Lampson
Size 138 by 30 by 22 ft, 802 tons
Aboard About 410 (369 emigrants and 41 crew plus captain)
Lives lost About 400; 9 survived
Carrying emigrants, she was driven onto jagged rocks off King Island in a severe storm at about 4.30 a.m. The nine survivors spent five weeks on the island before rescue by the cutter Midge, and 314 bodies were buried there.
Why she is remembered Australia's worst ever civil maritime disaster.
Sources differ Totals aboard and lost differ slightly in the source.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Unknown / State Library of Victoria, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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