HMS ''Challenger'' was a 28-gun
sixth rate
In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works a ...
of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
launched at
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
, England on 14 November 1826.
Royal patronage
''Challenger'' was commanded in 1827 by
Captain FitzClarence the illegitimate son of
William IV
William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...
. His father was still the Duke of Clarence in 1827, the year he became Lord High Admiral.
Fremantle
Under the command of
Charles Fremantle
Admiral Sir Charles Howe Fremantle GCB RN (1 June 1800 – 25 May 1869) was a renowned British Royal Navy officer. The city of Fremantle, Western Australia, is named after him. Early life
Fremantle was the second son of Thomas Fremantle, an ...
, she was in part responsible for the creation of the colony of
Swan River in 1829. Captain Fremantle was under orders to take possession of the western side of New Holland on behalf of the British government. ''Challenger'' arrived on 25 April 1829 off
Garden Island. She attempted to sail into
Cockburn Sound the next day, but due to the incompetence of the sailing master, struck a rock midway between
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...
and
Carnac Island
Carnac Island (Noongar: ''Ngoorloormayup'') is a , A Class, island nature reserve about south-west of Fremantle and north of Garden Island in Western Australia.
History
Carnac Island is aeolianite limestone remnant of Pleistocene dunes. It ...
s. ''Challenger'' was not seriously damaged.
Fate
![Wreck of HMS Challenger](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Wreck_of_HMS_Challenger.jpg)
''Challenger'' was wrecked off
Mocha Island
Mocha Island ( es, link=no, Isla Mocha ) is a small Chilean island located west of the coast of Arauco Province in the Pacific Ocean. The island is approximately in area, with a small chain of mountains running roughly in north-south direction. ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
on 19 May 1835, with the loss of two lives. rescued the survivors on 15 June.
''Challenger'' was under the command of Captain
Michael Seymour. She sailed from Rio de Janeiro on 1 April, bound for
Talcahuano
Talcahuano () (From Mapudungun ''Tralkawenu'', "Thundering Sky") is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile.
Geo ...
. She was sailing off the coast of Chile when she struck on rocks in the late evening of 19 May. Overcast skies had prevented her from taking sightings since 17 May. The crew cut away her mizzen mast and the waves carried her over the rocks into calmer water. Pumping kept the water coming in from sinking her, but it was clear that she was lost. The morning revealed that she was low, a flat beach nearby. Over the next few days the crew used boats and rafts to evacuate ''Challenger'', though some crew members died when their boats overturned in the surf. The crew were also able to salvage a considerable amount of her stores and to establish a camp. Local ranchers arrived and rendered assistance, while the assistant surgeon and clerk sought help at
Concepción, Chile. From there Rouse, the British consul, took a party on horseback to assist. At the wreck, a crowd of
Araucanian people gathered peaceably. Seymour was concerned that they could turn hostile, and the shore was unsuitable for ship access. The survivors abandoned their camp on 8 June and established a new camp at the mouth of the
Lebu River
Lebu River an important river of the Arauco Province. It has his sources in the western slope of the Nahuelbuta Range to the east of the city and port of Lebu, capital of the province and named for the river.
The Lebu is formed from the confluen ...
, about north. From there a party went overland to Concepción, about away (as the crow flies). Their leader, Lieutenant Collins, found the town still in ruins after the earthquake in February. The only available boat was an overpriced sloop in poor condition, so he sent a message to the consulate in
Valparaíso
Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...
requesting help, then went back to the Lebu camp.
HMS ''Beagle'', under captain
Robert FitzRoy
Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) was an English officer of the Royal Navy and a scientist. He achieved lasting fame as the captain of during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, FitzRoy's second expedition to Tierra de ...
, was surveying the coast and about to leave
Valparaíso
Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...
on 14 June when an English merchant got a letter which mentioned the shipwreck. A Swedish ship had seen an "American big" in trouble near Mocha island. FitzRoy questioned them and next day, convinced it was ''Challenger'' captained by his friend, collected the mail for the British consulate. It was closed, but he got entry and saw dispatches about the wreck. He then went to ''Blonde'' with the message from Collins requesting help. Apparently Commodore Mason was reluctant to set off and risk the
lee-shore in winter, so FitzRoy "had to bully him & at last offered to go as Pilot", agreed after "a tremendous quarrel" with hints the Commodore would face a
court-martial.
They took ''Blonde'' south to Concepción, then FitzRoy took horse and a guide to Seymour's Lebu camp, returning to find that Mason had hired the overpriced sloop ''Carmen'' with its inexperienced local crew, and sent it off along with the ''Beagle''s
whaleboat
A whaleboat is a type of open boat that was used for catching whales, or a boat of similar design that retained the name when used for a different purpose. Some whaleboats were used from whaling ships. Other whaleboats would operate from the sh ...
. The sloop had sailed past the campsite by 28 June, when at FitzRoy's insistence ''Blonde'' set off. He too had difficulty finding the Lebu River, but they saw signal fires lit at the camp, and arrived on 5 July. With some difficulties, they got the survivors on board, as well as Rouse, whose servants and horses returned overland. Investigation revealed that a powerful current had pushed ''Challenger'' onshore at Molfguilla, FitzRoy later suggested that the earthquake had changed ocean current patterns. On the way back they rescued ''Carmen'', which had become dismasted, and towed it and the whaleboat to Concepción. ''Challenger''s captain and crew were returned to England from
Coquimbo
Coquimbo is a port city, commune and capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo is situated in a valley south of La Serena, with which it forms Greater La Serena with more than ...
on 22 July by .
Citations
References
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Naval database*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Challenger (1826)
1826 ships
Ships built in Portsmouth
Maritime incidents in May 1835
Shipwrecks in the Chilean Sea
Sixth rates of the Royal Navy