On 24 December 1811, a storm resulted in the wrecking of six vessels on the Haak Sand north of Texel and the loss of over 600 lives.
Grasshopper, The 74-gun HMS Hero, the ship-sloop Egeria, the brig-sloop Grasshopper and the hired armed ship Prince William left Göteborg on 18 December 1811 as escorts to a convoy of 15 transports and a fleet of merchantmen, some 120 sail or more.[1] Four or five days later Egeria and Prince William separated, together with the vessels going to the Humber and Scotland, including most of the merchant vessels. The transports and a handful of the merchantmen proceeded with Hero and Grasshopper.[1]
On 24–25 December Hero and Grasshopper and the vessels they were escorting encountered a storm that result in the loss of most of them.[2]
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| Vessel | Death toll | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hero | Loss of all but 12 of her 600 crew | She grounded and within 15 minutes the distress signals ceased; by next morning she was completely wrecked |
| Grasshopper | Only the pilot drowned | She crossed the sandbank but then was trapped and had to surrender to the Dutch the next day |
Transport vessels and merchantmen edit
| Vessel | Death toll | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Archimedes[3] | 20 of the crew saved | |
| Beckman | Master and 13 crew lost[4] | Of Baltimore; in ballast[4] |
| Centurion | Crew lost[3] | Eight carronades[4] |
| Flora | Part of the crew saved[3] | Of 359 tons, sunk; 1500 barrels of powder & 250 chests of arms; a great number of chests are expected to be recovered[4] |
| Rosina | Master and 17 crew lost[3] | Of 350 tons; in ballast[4] |
See also edit
- HMS St George § last voyage and loss in the same storm off Jutland
References edit
- ^ a b Gentleman's Magazine (1812), p. 174.
- ^ Marshall, John (1829). . Royal Naval Biography. Vol. supp part 3. London: Longman and company. pp. 13, 14.
- ^ a b c d LL 21 January 1812, №4632.
- ^ a b c d e "SHIP NEWS", Hull Packet and Original Weekly Commercial, Literary and General Advertiser (Hull, England), Tuesday, January 28, 1812; Issue 1307.