Duke of York (1780 ship)

For other ships with the same name, see Duke of York (ship).

History
Great Britain
Name| Duke of York
Owner| Richard Cadman Etches
Builder| Archangel
Launched| 1780
Fate| Lost 11 September 1787
General characteristics
Tons burthen| 500 (bm)
Propulsion| Sail

Duke of York was a fir-built ship of 500 tons (bm), built in 1780 at Archangel. In 1787 her owner was "Hitchie", her master "Jn Wolff", and her trade London—South Seas, indicating that she was a whaler.[1] More accurately, her master was John Wolfe,[2] Woolf, or Wolf, and her owner Richard Cadman Etches.[2] She sailed on 21 April 1787 for the South Seas.[3]

Etches had received a license from the South Sea Company to sail around Cape Horn into the Pacific.[2] He dispatched her to reinforce the settlement at New Years Harbour (now Puerto Ano Nuevo) on Staten Island (now Isla de los Estados), off Tierra del Fuego.[a] Seal hunters established a factory there in 1786,[5] which was also well-located for vessels rounding Cape Horn to refresh and replenish their water.[4]

On 4 June, Duke of York sailed from St Jago, "all well".[6] By August, she was at the Falkland Islands, "all well".[7]

On 11 September, shortly after she arrived at New Years Harbour, Duke of York was lost. Her crew, however, was saved.[8]

The loss of Duke of York ended the factory. The people took to their boats and left the island.[4]

## Notes

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1. ^ Captain James Cook, then on his second voyage of exploration, had named the harbour after the date of his arrival, New Year's Day, 1775.[4]

## Citations

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1. ^ Lloyd's Register (1787), №S216.
2. ^ a b c Clayton (2014), p. 106.
3. ^ British Southern Whale Fishery Database – voyages: Duke of York.
4. ^ a b c Gallois (2011), p. 305, №105.
5. ^ Gallois (2011), p. 78.
6. ^ "The Marine List". New Lloyd's List (1907). 14 August 1787.
7. ^ "The Marine List". New Lloyd's List (1944). 25 December 1787.
8. ^ "The Marine List". New Lloyd's List (1972): 78 v. 28 March 1788. hdl:2027/mdp.39015008145784.

## References

[edit]

* Clayton, Jane M (2014). Ships employed in the South Sea Whale Fishery from Britain: 1775–1815: An alphabetical list of ships. Berforts Group. ISBN 9781908616524.
* Gallois, Robert (2011). A Voyage to the North West Side of America: The Journals of James Colnett, 1786-89. UBC Press. ISBN 9780774808552.

* Transport portal