''Harriet'' was launched in Massachusetts in 1809. The British captured her and on 13 January 1813 a prize court condemned her. New owners retained her name. She became a

West Indiaman West Indiaman was a general name for any merchantman sailing ship making runs from the Old World to the West Indies and the east coast of the Americas. These ships were generally strong ocean-going ships capable of handling storms in the Atlantic ...

, and made one voyage to

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. Between 1818 and 1832 she made four complete voyages as a

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...

in the British southern whale fishery. She was lost in October 1833 in the Seychelles on her fifth whaling voyage.

Career

''Harriet'' first appeared in ''

Lloyd's Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited (LR) is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and ...

'' (''LR'') for 1814.''LR'' (1814), Supple. pages "H", Seq.No.H25.
/ref> ''LR'' shows ''Harriet'', Jones, master, leaving for

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

on 8 July 1817, sailing under a licence from the British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

. However, that report appears to be in error. ''Harriet'' arrived at Hobart Town on 21 March 1817, and at Port Jackson on 11 May 1817 from London, with passengers and merchandise. She left for New Zealand 28 June. She returned to Port Jackson from New Zealand in September, with "spars, etc.", and sailed for London in December. She arrived back at Gravesend on 21 June 1818. ''LR'' reported that on 9 September 1818 ''Harriet'', J.Jones, master, had again sailed for Bombay. This too appears to be in error. 1st whaling voyage (1818–1822): ''

Lloyd's List ''Lloyd's List'' is one of the world's oldest continuously running journals, having provided weekly shipping news in London as early as 1734. It was published daily until 2013 (when the final print issue, number 60,850, was published), and is ...

'' reported in September 1818 that ''Harriet'', Jones, master, from London to New South Wales, had on 11 September arrived at the Downs, leaky. She had run onto the Margate Sands and would have to put back into the Thames to repair. Captain James Jones sailed on 20 September for New Zealand, the Pacific Ocean, and New Zealand. No.5315. She left on 20 September bound for Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Ocean, and Chile.British Southern Whale Fishery Database – Voyages: ''Harriet''.
/ref> On 1 December she was at Bona Vista (

Boa Vista, Cape Verde Boa Vista (Portuguese for "good view"), also written as Boavista, is a desert-like island that belongs to the Cape Verde Islands. At , it is the third largest island of the Cape Verde archipelago. The island of Boa Vista is closer to the Africa ...

), on her way to "New Holland". ''Harriet'' arrived at Sydney in ballast on 12 February 1819; she sailed for the whale fishery on 6 March. She was reported to have been at Chile and New Zealand in 1821. She arrived back in London on 31 May 1822 with 317 casks of

sperm oil Sperm oil is a waxy liquid obtained from sperm whales. It is a clear, yellowish liquid with a very faint odor. Sperm oil has a different composition from common whale oil, obtained from rendered blubber. Although it is traditionally called an " ...

and 330 tons of whale oil. 2nd whaling voyage (1822–1825): Captain William Anderson sailed from London on 4 December 1822, bound for the New south Wales fishery and New Zealand. She arrived at Port Jackson on 8 May 1823. From there she visited Tonga and

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for its ...

. She arrived back in Port Jackson on 29 April 1824 from New Zealand with 125 tons of

, which she may have transshipped. On 17 May she sailed again for the whale fishery. On 7 August 1825 she sailed from Port Jackson for England. She arrived in England on 27 December 1825 with 319 casks of whale oil. 3rd whaling voyage (1826–1829): By the time of this voyage ownership had transferred from Bell & Co., to Jones & Co., and lastly to John Lydekker. Captain Edward Reed (or Reid, or Poad) sailed from London on 15 May 1826, bound for the

Sandwich Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

. ''Harriet'' was reported at Honolulu and Woohoo, at various times. She arrived back in England on 10 January 1829 with more than 2200 barrels of whale oil. 4th whaling voyage (1829–1832): Captain Reed sailed from London on 9 June 1829. At various times she was reported at Honolulu, the Japan Grounds, Guam, Honolulu, and Tahiti. Then ''Harriet'', whaler, of 417 tons (bm) and 34 men, was reported to have been at San Francisco in October 1831. She was at Sausalito on 7 October, having come from Japan. She also visited Tahiti on 23 March 1832. She returned to England on 21 August 1832 with 480 casks of whale oil.

Fate

''Harriet'', McLean, master, sailed from London on 3 November 1832 on a fifth whaling voyage. On 30 August she was in the Mozambique Channel near

Bay of Saint-Augustin The Bay of Saint-Augustin is located on the southwestern coast of Madagascar in the region of Atsimo-Andrefana at the Mozambique Channel. This bay is the mouth of the Onilahy River at a distance of 35 kilometres south of Toliara Toliara (also k ...

where she spoke . ''Harriet'' reported that Captain McLean had died, and that the other officers and crew were refusing to obey Mr. Long as commander. On 14 October 1833 ''Harriet'', Skey, master, was wrecked on Île Poivre (Pepper Island; ), in the Seychelles, while on a whaling voyage. Her crew were rescued. She been sailing from

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

to the Seychelles. French sources state that the whaler ''Harriet'', Skey, master, was wrecked on 6 October 1833 on a horseshoe reef near Île Poivre. The crew landed there.''Almanach des Îles Séchelles, pour l'année bissextile 1840'', p.40.

Notes, citations, and references

Note Citations References * * * * {{cite book , last1=Huff , first1=Boyd , year=1957 , title=El Puerto de Los Balleneros: Annals of the Sausalito Whaling Anchorage , publisher=Glen Dawson 1809 ships Ships built in Massachusetts Captured ships Age of Sail merchant ships of England Whaling ships Maritime incidents in October 1833