HMS ''Capelin'' was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

''Ballahoo''-class schooner carrying four 12-pounder

carronade A carronade is a short, smoothbore, cast-iron cannon which was used by the Royal Navy. It was first produced by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, and was used from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century. Its main func ...

s and a crew of 20. The prime contractor for the vessel was Goodrich & Co., in

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

, and she was launched in 1804. Like many of her class and the related ''Cuckoo''-class schooners, she succumbed to the perils of the sea relatively early in her career.

Career

In May 1804 she was commissioned under Lieutenant Archibald McDonald (or M'Donald; acting) for the Halifax station. On 20 December 1806 he faced a court martial for his conduct after ''Capelin'' had run aground while under his command. The court decided that the charge was partly proven and so reprimanded him. It also ruled that he forfeit all seniority on the lieutenants' list. Still, McDonald was promoted to lieutenant on 22 December 1806 and commanded ''Capelin'' until February 1807. At some point, possibly in 1806, Lieutenant J. Beckett may have commanded her for a short period. In 1807 ''Capelin'' was off

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

and under Lieutenant Thomas Delafons. On 11 August the ship ''Georgetown'' and the brig ''Robert'' arrived in Malta. A Spanish privateer had captured them off Sicilly, but ''Capelin'' had retaken them. Lieutenant Josias Bray replaced Delafons and took command on 13 January 1808.

Fate

On 25 January ''Capelin'' was in company with ''Champion'' and ''Sybille'' when ''Sybille'' captured the ''Grand Argus''. ''Capellin'' was reconnoitering the harbour at

Brest, France Brest (; ) is a port city in the Finistère department, Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of the peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French mi ...

when she hit the sunken Parquette Rock at 7am on 30 June. , the hired armed cutter ''Adrian'' and the cutter all tried to get her off. However, no sooner had ''Entreprenante'' succeeded than water gushed in, causing ''Capelin'' to sink quickly, stern first. The vessels in attendance saved her crew. The subsequent court martial for the loss of ''Capelin'' reprimanded Bray for not being on deck when she approached the harbour. The court martial board also reprimanded Gunner's Mate Thomas Cole, who had been in charge of the watch, for not calling Bray when the haze had caused him to lose sight of the light at Pointe de Sainte Matthieu.

Citations

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Capelin (1804) 1804 ships Ships built in Bermuda Ballahoo-class schooners Maritime incidents in 1808 Shipwrecks in the Bay of Biscay