Cyrus (1800 whaler)
| History | |
|---|---|
 USA
|
|
| Name: | Cyrus |
| Builder: | Salem, Massachusetts |
| Launched: | 1792 or 1800 |
| Fate: | Sold or transferred to France in 1802 |
 France
|
|
| Name: | Cyrus |
| Owner: | Louis De Baecque |
| Commissioned: | July 1803 |
| Homeport: | Dunkirk |
| Captured: | 23 September 1803 |
 United Kingdom
|
|
| Name: | Cyrus |
| Owner: | Various |
| Fate: | No longer trading after 1854 and no longer listed after 1856 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 324 tons (French; "of load") |
| Tons burthen: | 288 (bm) |
| Propulsion: | Sail |
| Armament: | 8 × 6-pounder guns |
Cyrus was a whaler launched at Salem in 1800. She performed one whaling voyage for French owners before a British letter of marque captured her in 1803. From 1804 on, she performed 17 whaling voyages for British owners in the almost half a century between 1804 and 1853. The first five were for Samuel Enderby & Sons. Between 1 August 1834 and 2 June 1848 her captain was Richard Spratly, namesake of Spratly Island and the group of islands and reefs known as the Spratly Islands. She apparently made one last voyage in 1854, but then no longer traded. She was last listed in Lloyd's Register in 1856.
Cyrus first entered Lloyd's Register in the Supplement to the 1802 edition. Her master was Hamond, and her trade was London-Dunkirk. However, despite the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars and the end of the Peace of Amiens she went whaling in South African waters. She left Dunkirk on 3 August under Archelaus Hammond.
By 25 September 1803, the letter of marque Scorpion was at Delagoa Bay on the east coast of Africa. There she captured two French whalers: Cyrus, and Ganges. At the time of her capture Cyrus was under the command of Archelaus Hammond. Scorpion then escorted both into St Helena. From there they sailed to Britain where they were sold, with their new owners fitting them out for whaling and arming them.
When Cyrus was sold in 1804, Lloyd's Register gave the name of the buyer as Mather & Co., a noted owner of whaling vessels. Her new captain was her former mate, Paul West.
Cyrus's first whaling voyage began on 12 July 1804 with Paul West, master. Cyrus reported that the whaler Alexander arrived at St Helena on 26 March 1806 from New Holland with 1200 barrels sperm oil. On 12 April 1806 Cyrus was still at St Helena, and she returned to Britain on 17 June.
...
Wikipedia