Mermaids & Pirates @mermaids-pirates - Tumblr Blog

Naval telescope, c. 1790 and after 1805

This telescope once belonged to John Pasco (1774-1853) who, as Nelson’s flag lieutenant on the Victory at Trafalgar, was responsible for sending out the famous signal “England expects every man to do his duty” and was decorated for his service with this telescope.

This is typical of the type used for signalling at the time and the plaque shows the signal flags in the margin. It was passed down through the family and later presented by Commander Pasco to His Royal Highness Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (1844-1900), Queen Victoria’s second son. The occasion was Prince Alfred’s visit to the Australian colony of Victoria as Captain of the Royal Navy on the Galatea, to which he was commanded in 1867.

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View from the Citadel Ramparts in Copenhagen by Moonlight, 1839, by Martinus Rørbye (1803-1848)

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Sinking of the Association in 1707, by John Alan Hamilton (1919–1993)

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Deck of the danish corvette Najaden and the main deck of the warship Queen Mary , by C. W. Eckersbergs, 1833 /34

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A large scrimshaw whale’s tooth with harbour scene, date unknown- but i guess it is a modern piece

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Sailing Vessels of the 18th century

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HMS Indefatigable accompanied by HMS Amazon attacking the French Ship Droits de l'Homme, by William John Huggins (1781–1845)

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The Invincible the first European style shipwreck of Lake Superior

The Invincible was a schooner built for the British North West Company as a merchant vessel at the Royal shipyard at Amherstberg in 1802. She was part of a small fleet of schooners and brigs that sailed the Great Lakes carrying cargo back and forth. While many of her sisters were captured at the Battle of Lake Erie, Invincible seemed to live up to her name during the War of 1812. Her exact whereabouts and activities are unknown, but it is known that the North West Company took steps to hide part of its fleet in the coves of a lonely coast, on guard against attempts to capture or destroy any ship bearing the Union Jack, whether merchant or warship. Most likely she was kept on Lake Superior, carrying goods and supplies for her owner.

Replica of the Schooner Invincible, 1802 (x)

On 16 November 1816, with snow, ice and sleet adding considerable weight to her weight, binding on the spars and rigging, freezing the blocks and making the sails stiff and unmanageable, the Invincible probably sank in the lee of Whitefish Point, Lake Superior. The Invincible is the first European-style shipwreck on the Shipwreck Coast.

Amazingly, not a soul was lost. All made it back to the Sault, frozen, starving, desperate for shelter, but alive. The Forsaken probably wandered overland through what later became the village of Paradise, although it seemed very different as they fought for their lives. Royal Navy Lieutenant Henry Bayfield, who was later given the task of charting the Great Lakes, mapped the waters around Whitefish Point in 1825 and he noted on his map the “wreck of the schooner Invincible”. However, no trace of this wreck can be found to this day. She seems to have disappeared in the course of time.

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The Zetland- the world's oldest surviving lifeboat

The Zetland named after the Marquess of Zetland was launched in Redcar, North Yorkshire in 1802. She had a clinker hull, was 9.15m long and 3.1m wide and a crew of 13 and could be enlarged to 20. She was housed in a boathouse near the beach and was launched using a trolley. It was pulled across the beach to the sea by local people, sometimes by a team of horses from the local farm. When the lifeboat was needed, the crew was called through the streets by a local boy with a drum.

The Zetland (x)

It served for a total of 73 years, saving over 500 lives, but not everything always went well. On Christmas Day 1836, the Zetland was launched to rescue the crew of the Caroline, a Danish tugboat. During the rescue attempt, one of the crew, William Guy, was washed overboard and drowned. This was the only death among the crew in the lifeboat’s long history. The Zetland was then washed ashore and was unable to launch, and tragically the crew of the Caroline also drowned.

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However, a remarkable rescue operation took place in 1854 when the Jane Erskine ran aground off Redcar. Several local fishermen went out in their boats to refloat the ship, but ran into trouble when the weather deteriorated. The Zetland went out and rescued all the crew and the 26 fishermen, who had a total of 52 people on board.

Zetland (x)

After being damaged in 1864 while rescuing a crew from the Brigg Brothers, the Zetland was deemed unserviceable and was to be scrapped. This caused great protests among the population and so the Zetland was handed over to them, who repaired her and so she went out for the last time on 29 October 1880. On that day the schooner Luna rammed the pier at Redcar in a gusty wind and broke in two. Emma and Burton-on-Trent the other two local lifeboats were both out of action after rescuing crew members from two other distressed vessels. Zetland was very successful one last time and rescued the 7 Sailors. She was then decommissioned and can now be admired as the oldest lifeboat in the Zetland Lifeboat Museum in Redcar.