Thames (1805 ship)

Thames was a Spanish vessel launched in 1804, almost certainly under a different name, and captured circa 1805. She became a whaler, making eight whaling voyages between 1805 and 1826. Although the registers carried Thames for some years after her return from her eighth voyage, there is no evidence that she ever sailed again.

History
Great Britain
Launched:	1804
Acquired:	1805 by purchase of a Spanish prize
Fate:	Ceased sailing after her return to London in October 1826
General characteristics
Tons burthen:	Originally: 298[1][2] (bm) Post lengthening (1811): 377, or 380 (bm)
Complement:	26[1]

Career

W. Mellish purchased Thames and she would go on to make eight whaling voyages for him. There is some confusion among sources as to the vessel. Once source describes her as having been built in Rotherhithe in 1804,[3] but another source points out that other than the name and the name of a master, John Hemmons, there is no further evidence for this vessel.[4]

1st whaling voyage (1805–1808): Captain Charles Gardner acquired a letter of marque on 30 September 1805.[1] He sailed on 10 October 1805 in company with Star, James Birnie, master, and William and Elizabeth, J.Coffin, master. They separated from each other a little later. Thames sailed via Porto Santo (1 November), Palma (5 November), Isle of Mayo (11 November), and St Catherine's (off the coast of Brazil. In February 1807, some men were mutinous, but she rounded Cape Horn and fished off the coast of South America, being reported having been "all well" in March 1807. She returned to England on 2 January 1808, having taken 57 whales.[3]

Thames first appeared in Lloyd's Register in 1808.[2]

Year	Master	Owner	Trade	Source
1808	Bowerman	W.Mellish	London–Southern Fishery	LR

2nd whaling voyage (1808–1811): Captain Joseph Bowman (or Bowerman), sailed from England on 11 March 1808, bound for the waters off Peru. Thames was reported to have been on the coast of Peru in December 1809, "all well" on 27 March 1810, and off Peru in September 1810. She returned to England on 13 February 1811.[3]

3rd whaling voyage (1811–1813): Captain Andrew Bristow acquired a letter of marque against America. He sailed from England on 8 June 1811, bound for New Zealand. Thames returned on 21 December 1813.

Year	Master	Owner	Trade	Source
1813	Bowerman A.Bristow	W.Mellish	London–Southern Fishery	LR; lengthened 1811
1814	A.Bristow	W.Mellish	London–Southern Fishery	LR; lengthened 1811
1816	A.Bristow Stavers	W.Mellish	London–Southern Fishery	LR; lengthened 1811

4th whaling voyage (1814–1816): Captain John Stavers sailed from England in 1814, bound for the waters off Peru. I May 1815 she was at the Galapagos Islands. She returned to England on 16 April 1816 with in excess of 1500 barrels of whale oil. On her return several crew members accused Stavers of having caused the death of an apprentice.[3]

Although some sources report that Thames was sold to the government,[3] or private owners,[4] she appears to have remained under Mellish's ownership.[3] LR also did not show any change of ownership.

Year	Master	Owner	Trade	Source
1818	E.Lawson	W.Mellish	London–Southern Fishery	LR; lengthened 1811

5th whaling voyage (1816–1818): Captain Edward Lawson sailed from England on 27 June 1816. Thames returned on 1 July 1818 with 760 casks of whale oil.[3]

6th whaling voyage (1818–1820): Captain Lawson sailed from England on 21 September 1818. Thames returned on 22 September 1820.[3]

7th whaling voyage (1821–1823): Captain Lawson sailed from England on 31 March 1821, bound for Peru. On 8 October 1822 Thames was at Honolulu, having taken some 1700 barrels in the waters off Japan. She returned to England on 5 October 1823 with 650 casks.[3] The voyage from Lima had taken 93 days. Thames had brought with her a Spanish colonel who was carrying dispatches for the British government.[5] On 5 October, as Thames was returning from the South Seas, she ran afoul of Freundschaft, Johanson, in the Downs. Freundschaft had to put into Ramsgate, having sustained some damage.[6]

Year	Master	Owner	Trade	Source
1824	E.Lawson Meek	W.Mellish	London–Southern Fishery	Register of Shipping; lengthened 1811

8th whaling voyage (1824–1826): Captain John Meek sailed from England on 10 October 1824, bound for the Sandwich Islands. On 25 April and 29 October 1825 Thames was at Honolulu. She returned to England on 5 December 1826 with 500 casks of oil.[3]

Fate

LR continued to carry Thames with stale data for a number of years after 1826. However, William Mellish had purchased a new Thames, launched on the Thames, in 1827, that set out for the Southern Whale Fishery on 6 September 1827.

Citations & references

Citations

1. "Letter of Marque, p.89 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
2. LR (1808), Supple. pages "T", Seq.No.T`4.
3. British Southern Whale Fishery – Voyages: Thames.
4. Clayton (2014), pp. 231–232.
5. "SHIP NEWS". Morning Post (London, England), Tuesday, October 07, 1823; Issue 16472.
6. "The Marine List". Lloyd's List (5844). 7 October 1823. Retrieved 5 October 2020.

References

• 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.