Prince of Wales (1803 EIC ship)

History
United Kingdom
Name:	Prince of Wales
Owner:	Peter Everitt Mestaer[1]
Builder:	Peter Everitt Mestaer, King and Queen Dock, Rotherhithe
Launched:	8 February 1803[2]
Fate:	Lost June 1804
General characteristics
Tons burthen:	820,[1] 820^32⁄94[2] or 857[3] (bm)
Length:	146 feet 5 inches (44.6 m) (overall) 119 feet 0 inches (36.3 m) (keel)
Beam:	36 feet 0 inches (11.0 m)
Depth of hold:	14 feet 9 inches (4.5 m)
Propulsion:	Sail
Complement:	80[3]
Armament:	20 × 18-pounder guns[3]

Prince of Wales was an East Indiaman launched in 1803. She was on her first voyage for the British East India Company when she foundered in 1804 on her homeward voyage. Captain John Price left the Downs on 9 May 1803, bound for Bombay and Madras. Because she was sailing in a time of war, Price took out a letter of marque, which he received on 2 July 1803.^[3] Prince of Wales left Madras on 15 April 1804.^[1]

In June Prince of Wales travelled from St Helena in convoy with the East Indiamen City of London, Ceylon, Calcutta, and Wyndham, two vessels from the South Seas, Lively and Vulture, and Rolla, which had transported convicts to New South Wales.^{[Note 1]} Their escort was HMS Courageaux.^[5] On the way the convoy ran into severe weather with the result that Prince of Wales foundered with the loss of all on board. She was last seen on 8 June 1804 in distress.^[2]

Notes, citations, and references

Notes

1. Lively was a French ship launched in 1787 but captured in 1796. She was now working as a South Seas whaler under the command of Captain Magnus Smith and under ownership of David Bennett.^[4]

Citations

1. National Archives: Prince of Wales (8) - accessed 31 July 2015.
2. Hackman (2001), p. 175.
3. Letter of Marque, 1793–1815, p.93;
4. Clayton (2014), pp.160-1.
5. The Times, 12 October 1804.

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 978-1908616524
• Hackman, Rowan (2001) Ships of the East India Company. (Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society). ISBN 0-905617-96-7