William and Ann (1781 ship)

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History
Great Britain
Owner1781: Will and Francis Skinner, and William Reynolds
BuilderWhitby
Launched1781
FateWrecked 1830
General characteristics [1]
Tons burthen341, or 344, or 400 (bm)
Length101 ft (31 m)
Beam29 ft (8.8 m)
Armament
  • 1782: 10 × 6-pounder guns
  • 1783: 6 × 6-pounder guns
  • 1798: 6 × 6-pounder guns
  • 1805: 6 × 4-pounder guns

William and Ann was launched in 1781 at Whitby. From her launch until 1805 she alternated between being a transport and trading with the Baltic. In 1805 she became a whaler in the northern whale fishery . She wrecked in ice in 1830 in the Greenland fisheries on her 24th whaling voyage.

Career[edit]

William and Ann first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1781.[2] When she was launched Great Britain was still at war and her initial service was as a transport. After the war ended in 1783, William and Ann started trading with the Baltic. Thereafter, she interspersed trading with the Baltic and service as a transport.

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1781 W.Bridekirk W.Skinner Whitby LR
1782 W.Bridekirk W.Skinner London transport LR
1784 W.Bridekirk W.Skinner London transport
London–Petersburg
LR
1789 W.Bridekirk W.Skinner
W.Sims
London–Baltic LR
1790 W.Bridekirk W.Skinner
St.Barbe
London–Baltic LR; damage repaired 1789
1791 W.Bridekirk W.Skinner Cork transport LR; damage repaired 1789
1792 W.Bridekirk W.Skinner London–Petersburg LR; damage repaired 1789
1793 W.Bridekirk W.Skinner London–Petersburg
Cork transport
LR; damage repaired 1789
1797 W.Bridekirk W.Skinner Cork transport
London–Riga
LR; damage repaired 1789 & repairs 1797
1799 W.Bridekirk W.Skinner Riga–Portsmouth
London transport
LR; damage repaired 1789 & repairs 1797
1800 W.Bridekirk W.Skinner London transport
Liverpool–Rostock
LR; damage repaired 1789 & repairs 1797
1805 W.Bridekirk Skinner, Jr. Cork LR; damage repaired 1789 & repairs 1797

LR carried William and Ann until 1810 with data unchanged from the 1805 volume. However, William and Ann had become a whaler, something that the Register of Shipping (RS) had recorded.

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1806 Johnson Skinner Whitby–Davis Strait RS; repairs 1797, good repairs 1802, and small repairs 1804 and 1805

Some data exists on William and Ann's catches in the Northern Whale Fishery.

Year Master Where "Fish"
(Whales)
Tuns blubber Tuns whale oil Seals
1805 Johnston Davis Strait 8 111 0
1806 7 141 11
1807 Johnston Davis Strait 6 100.75 0
1808 25 313.5 1

In 1809 William and Ann traded between London and Whitby rather than engaging in whaling.

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1810 Stephens Skinner Whitby–London RS; good repairs 1802, 1804, 1805, 1806, 1807, & 1888
Year Master Where "Fish"
(Whales)
Tuns blubber Tuns whale oil Seals
1810 Stephens Greenland 11 184.5 42
1811 19 192 122

On 27 February 1812, William and Ann, Davidson, master, was leaving Leith for Davis Strait when she grounded at the end of the pier.[3]

Year Master Where "Fish"
(Whales)
Tuns blubber Tuns whale oil Seals
1812 16 221 166
1813 9 139.5 0
1814 Stephenson Greenland 31 or 32 250 180 or 190 157
1815 Stephenson Greenland 4 91 67 171
1816 Stephenson Greenland 3 68 49 22
1817 Stephens Greenland 22 200 1535
1818 Stephens Greenland 8 115 89 1
1819 Terry Greenland 1 14
1820 Terry Greenland 12 189.5 136 7
1821 Terry Greenland 9 72
1822 Terry 6 81
1823 Terry 25 204
1824 Terry 13 150
1825 Terry 3 46
1826 Terry 23
1827 Terry 6 70
1828 Terry 13 149
1829 Terry 10 115

Fate[edit]

The 1830 season was a disastrous one for the Northern Whale Fishery. Seven Scottish and five English ships were lost between 10 June and 10 September when beset by ice.[4] William and Ann, of Whitby, Terry, master, was one of the vessels lost.[5] She was one of the vessels that ice crushed on 26 June.[6]

Captain Terry transferred to Eagle, along with the carpenter and 12 seamen.[6]

Citation[edit]

  1. ^ Weatherill (1908), p. 87.
  2. ^ LR (1781), Seq.No.W374.
  3. ^ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 4644. 3 March 1812. hdl:2027/uc1.c2735025.
  4. ^ Sanger (2012), p. 196.
  5. ^ "Disastrous Intelligence From the Greenland Fisheries". Sheffield Independent. Vol. 11, no. 565. 16 October 1830. p. 2.
  6. ^ a b Lubbock (1937), p. 279.

References[edit]

  • Lubbock, Basil (1937). Arctic Whalers. Glasgow: Brown, Son & Ferguson.
  • Sanger, Chesley W. (2012). "The Rise of Scotland to a Position of Dominance in British Northern Whaling,1802-1840". International Journal of Maritime History. 24 (1): 173–202. doi:10.1177/084387141202400108. S2CID 154897734.
  • Weatherill, Richard (1908). The ancient port of Whitby and its shipping. Whitby: Horne and Son.