''Truelove'' was a merchant ship, which served in the 18th and 19th centuries. The vessel was constructed in America in 1764, but was captured by the British in the American War of Independence, and operated as both 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 ...

and a general cargo ship until 1888, when she was broken up.

Description

''Truelove'' was a

full-rigged ship A full-rigged ship or fully rigged ship is a sailing vessel's sail plan with three or more masts, all of them square-rigged. A full-rigged ship is said to have a ship rig or be ship-rigged. Such vessels also have each mast stepped in three s ...

, with three masts and

square rig Square rig is a generic type of sail and rigging arrangement in which the primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spars which are perpendicular, or square, to the keel of the vessel and to the masts. These spars are called '' yards'' ...

. She was constructed with a "tumble home" design, with her hull sides (

topsides The topsides on a boat, ship, watercraft, or floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, is that part of the hull (watercraft), hull between the waterline and the Deck (ship), deck.Rognaas, G., Xu, J., Lindseth, S., & Rosendahl, F. ( ...

) sloping inwards to the upper decks from the water line. Her topsides were constructed with planks overlapping in such a way as to allow water to drain freely from the upper decks. The ship's usual maximum speed was . While operating as a merchant ship, she was fitted with twelve guns for defence against French attack. The Truelove is commemorated with a sculpture in Hull by Stefan Gec.

Service history

''Truelove'' was launched in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

in 1764. The vessel was captured by the British during the American War of Independence, when she operated as an American

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

, and was bought by a shipowner for use as a cargo ship in the wine trade to

Oporto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...

. After a refit in 1784, which involved strengthening the vessel's hull, she began work as a

in the Arctic, based at Hull, although she was occasionally used for other cargo. In 1849, the ship carried relief supplies in support of

Franklin's lost expedition Franklin's lost expedition was a failed British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Sir John Franklin that departed England in 1845 aboard two ships, and , and was assigned to traverse the last unnavigated sect ...

, during which time she was threatened with sinking several times due to

pack ice Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object (shoals, grounded icebergs, etc.).Leppäranta, M. 2011. The Drift of Sea Ice. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Unlike fast ice, which is "fasten ...

, including one instance when she was trapped for six weeks in

Melville Bay Melville Bay ( kl, Qimusseriarsuaq; da, Melville Bugt), is a large bay off the coast of northwestern Greenland. Located to the north of the Upernavik Archipelago, it opens to the south-west into Baffin Bay. Its Kalaallisut name, ''Qimusseriarsu ...

. Notable whaling captains of the Truelove included John Parker, William Barron, and William Wells (1854-1860 & 1866-67) The vessel retired from whaling in 1868, having completed 72 voyages. After this time, she was still capable of being used as a general cargo ship. She was eventually broken up, probably around 1888, after 124 years of near continuous service.

References

External links

Watercolour of Truelove of Hull by David Johnson Kennedy
at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Oil painting of Truelove of Hull by William Robert Nixon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Truelove (ship) 1764 ships Whaling ships