Molly (1759 ship)

Molly first appeared in an online copy of Lloyd's Register in 1776.[1] Although there is no readily accessible data on her career before 1775, apparently she had made 32 annual whaling voyages prior to her capture in 1806,[2] which suggests that she had been whaling since 1774. The whaling season lasted from March to July-August, or so. Favourable conditions could result in short seasons; in 1799 Molly sailed to Greenland on 17 March and returned to Hull 87 days later, on 12 June,[3] with a good catch. When not whaling, the vessels would frequently engage in the coal or Baltic trades, though with a crew a third of the size of that they required for whaling.[3]

Captain Potts remained Molly's master until 1786.

In 1787 Molly was in Greenland when she took an extremely large whale.[4]

The largest whale I ever heard of was got in Greenland by Molly of Hull in 1787. It yielded no less than 40 tuns (the old-fashioned tun), and I believe it was the largest fish that ever was known to be got.

— Smith

In 1806 Molly was attempting to "double the ice", in fog, when she encountered the French frigate Sirène, which captured her.[5] Lloyd's List reported in July 1806 that the frigate had captured the whalers Lion, of Liverpool, and Molly, of Hull.[6][lower-alpha 1] In August Lloyd's List reported that a French frigate had taken Molly, Sadler.[7]

Notes

Citations

References

• Barrow, Tony (1988). "The crewing of Arctic whaling vessels in the eighteenth century". In Fisher, Stephen (ed.). Lisbon as a port town, the British seaman and other maritime themes. University of Exeter.
• Gillett, Edward; MacMahon, Kenneth A. (1989). A History of Hull. Hull University.
• Munroe, Henry (1854). "Statistics of the Northern Whale Fisheries, from the Year 1772 to 1852". Journal of the Statistical Society of London. 17 (1): 34–42.
• Smith, Charles Edward (1923). From the Deep of the Sea: Being the Diary of the Late Charles Edward Smith, M.R.C.S., Surgeon of the Whaleship Diana, of Hull. Macmillan.