Comet (1800 ship)
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom
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| Name: | Comet |
| Namesake: | Comet |
| Owner: | John St Barbe |
| Builder: | Pitcher, Northfleet |
| Launched: | 29 March 1800 |
| Fate: | Lost 1815, or 1816 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 529, or 529 1⁄94, or 535, or 553 (bm) |
| Length: | 120 ft 1 1⁄2 in (36.6 m) (overall)*95 ft 7 1⁄2 in (29.1 m) (keel) |
| Beam: | 32 ft 2 in (9.8 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 12 ft 5 in (3.8 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sail |
| Complement: |
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| Armament: |
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| Notes: | Three decks |
Comet was launched in 1800 on the Thames. In 1801 she made a voyage under charter to the British East India Company (EIC). On her second voyage, in 1803, the French captured her. Still, in 1804 her previous owners were able to reacquire her. She then made another voyage for the EIC. On her return she first served as a troopship and then in the West Indies trade. She apparently was lost in 1815 or 1816.
Comet's first voyage, under the command of Captain J. Mooring, was to Surinam. St Barbe then chartered Comet to the EIC, which first had Wells inspect and measure her.
Captain Thomas Larkins (or Larkens), received a letter of marque on 22 June 1801. He then sailed from Portsmouth on 9 September, bound for Bengal. Comet arrived at Calcutta on 9 February 1802. Homeward bound, she was at Diamond Harbour on 7 May, before returning to Calcutta on 23 May.Comet had grounded in the Bengal River and had to put back for repairs. Again homeward bound, she was at Diamond Harbour on 7 July, and Kedgeree on 2 August. She reached St Helena on 8 November, and arrived at Long Reach on 5 January 1803.
Prior to Comet's ill-fated, second voyage for the EIC, Captain James Moring received a letter of marque on 20 May 1803. (JHe had been first officer under Larkin on Comet's first voyage. He sailed from Portsmouth on 21 June 1803, bound for St Helena and Bengal. On 1 July the French captured Comet 160-190 leagues north of Madeira. The French squadron, which consisted of five ships of the line and some frigates, had been returning to France from San Domingo. They took Comet into Ferrol.
The French liberated their English prisoners promptly. By September Moring was in English hands, revealing what he had seen at Ferrol.
A year later Comet too was back in English hands. The French had sold Comet at A Coruña (across the bay from Ferrol), to an American company in London. They then sent her in August in ballast to England. While she was on her way, HMS Northumberland, flagship to Admiral Alexander Cochrane, detained her and sent her into Plymouth, where she arrived on 2-3 September 1804.
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Wikipedia