''Harriet'' was a former vessel of the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, probably the . The Navy sold her in 1829 and her new owners deployed her 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, Jap ...

in the British Southern Whale Fishery. She made three complete whaling voyages and was wrecked in July 1837 during her fourth.

Origins

''LR'' gave ''Harriet''s origin as "Kgs Yd",''LR'' (1829), Supple.pages "H", Seq.№H56.
/ref> signalling that she had been built for the Navy. The ''Register of Shipping'' (''RS'') identified where she was built as Ipswich. Both registers gave her launch year as 1813. There were three vessels built for the Navy in Ipswich in 1813 that were sold in 1828 or 1829 and of a burthen similar to ''Harriet''s. All three were ''Cruizer''-class brig sloops of about 386 tons (bm): , , and . ''Fly'' was sold in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

in 1828, and ''Harlequin'' was sold in Jamaica in September 1829. ''Fly''s purchaser could have sailed her to Britain for resale, with the result that although ''Harriet'' is most probably the former ''Harrier'', the link cannot be verified definitively absent original research.

Whaler

''Harriet'' underwent a large repair in 1829. 1st whaling voyage (1829–1831): Captain W. Young sailed from London on 19 September 1829, bound for the seas off Japan. ''Harriet'' was reported to have visited Guam and to have fished off Guam. She returned to England on 10 August 1831 with some 2200 barrels of whale oil. 2nd whaling voyage (1831–183_): Captain Thomas Tapsell sailed ''Harriet'' from Great Britain on 15 November 1831. It is not clear when she returned. 3rd whaling voyage (1833–1836): ''Harriet'' was reported at Nukahiva in the

Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands ( ; or ' or ' ; Marquesan language, Marquesan: ' (North Marquesan language, North Marquesan) and ' (South Marquesan language, South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcano, volcanic islands in ...

by 17 April 1833. From 11 to 30 May she was at Honolulu. In June she was on the Japan Grounds. In mid-1834 she was in the

Santa Cruz Islands The Santa Cruz Islands form an archipelago in Temotu Province, Solomon Islands. They lie approximately to the southeast of the Solomon Islands (archipelago), Solomon Islands archipelago, just north of the archipelago of Vanuatu and are con ...

. From 26 October to 2 November she was at Wahoo (

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

). She returned to London on 8 December 1835 with 500 casks of whale oil. 4th whaling voyage (1836–Loss): ''Harriet'', William Christie, master, sailed from London on 7 June 1836, bound for New Zealand. On 3 November she was at

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 ...

, where Captain Christie died. She had not yet taken any whales. Captain Thomas Ridout replaced Christie. She was at Bay of Islands again on 11 May 1837, this time with 1800 barrels of whale oil. She was next reported at Rotumah on 6 June. On 16 July she struck on Providence Reef, in the Fiji Islands. The crew, with the exception of the carpenter, was saved. Reportedly, she had 300 barrels of oil aboard, suggesting that she had already transshipped much, if not all, of her catch. ''Harriet'' was last listed in 1838 with Christie, master, G.H.Pace, owner, and trade London–South Seas.''LR'' (1838), Seq.№H115.
/ref>

Citations

References

* {{1837 shipwrecks 1813 ships Age of Sail merchant ships of England Whaling ships Maritime incidents in 1837 Shipwrecks of Fiji Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean