HMS ''Shearwater'' was a wooden

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

which became the main surveying vessel in the UK in the 1840s. ''Shearwater'' was built in Harwich in 1826 for the Post Office, transferred to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in 1837, and equipped for surveying at Woolwich in 1841. Her length was 137', beam 23'. The first task, under the command of Captain John Washington, was to complete the great survey of the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

which had occupied Captain William Hewett for 10 years until the loss of his ship HMS ''Fairy'' with all hands in 1840. While in the North Sea, Washington also continued Hewett's work on tidal observations, verifying the theory of

William Whewell William Whewell ( ; 24 May 17946 March 1866) was an English polymath. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. In his time as a student there, he achieved distinction in both poetry and mathematics. The breadth of Whewell's endeavours is ...

that there should be a point in the southern North sea where there is no tidal rise or fall - what is now called an Amphidromic point. Captain

Charles Robinson Charles, Charlie or Charley Robinson may refer to: In arts and entertainment *Charles Dorman Robinson (1847–1933), American painter *Charles Napier Robinson (1849–1936), English journalist and story writer *Charles M. Robinson (architect) (18 ...

took command of ''Shearwater'' in January 1842, and carried out surveying work, mostly in western Scotland, until 1847. ''Shearwater'', along with other surveying boats was then sent to help with famine relief in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, and from 1848 surveying work in home waters was carried out in hired ships In August 1851 Lieutenant-Commander William Horton took command of ''Shearwater'', with duties in the Mediterranean. She was sold in Malta in 1857.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shearwater (1837) Paddle steamers of the United Kingdom Ships built in Harwich Research vessels of the United Kingdom