Harrier, 1804
Type: Sloop ; Armament 16
Launched : 22 Aug 1804 ;
Disposal date or year : 1809
Disposal Details : Foundered as is supposed in the East Indies. Commander Thomas R. Ridge
Complement: 110
Notes:

Built of Fir

28 Nov 1804 arrived Spithead the Harrier, Capt Wooldridge, from the Eastward.

Circa 15 Dec 1804 the Harrier, Capt Wooldridge, is preparing for service in the East Indies.

24 Dec 1804 departed Spithead with dispatches for the East Indies.

2-3 Aug 1805 action between the Pha�ton, and Harrier and the French 36-gun frigate S�millante.

25--26 Jul 1806 Greyhound and Harrier captured the Dutch 36-gun frigate Pallas and the Dutch company's ships Vittoria and Batavia, [the latter 2 returning a tidy sum in prize money].

1 - 3 Feb 1807 extract from log when she experienced the effects of a hurricane in the Indian Ocean and the last reported sightings of the Blenheim and Java which were presumed lost in this storm.

Cape of Good Hope 21 Feb 1809 departed with the Nereide and Racehorse to cruise off the islands of Mauritius and Bourbon.

14 Mar 1809 Last reported sighting of the Harrier, by HMS Racehorse.

Extract from the log of HMS Harrier, Captain Justin Finley.

Hour	K	F	Courses	Winds	Remarks
1 Feb 1807
A.M.
1	9	4	SW	NE	A.M. Threatening weather ; in third reef of fore-topsail ; heavy rain and the wind increasing ; sent the top-gallant-yards down ; in third reef of main-topsail ; hauled the mainsail up, and bent the storm-staysails and trysail.
2	9	6
3	9	0
4	9	0			Strong gales, with heavy squalls and rain.
5	9	4			Ditto weather ; struck the fore-top-gallant-mast ; the wind still increasing, found it dangerous to attempt striking the main-top-gallant-mast ; the wind blowing so strong, sent all the small sails from aloft.
6	9	4
7	9	6
8	10	2			Strong gales, with heavy rain ; Admiral and Java in company.
9	9	2
10	9	0			Strong gales, with rain ; handed the mainsail ; close-reefed the mainsail ; close-reefed the fore-topsail ; people employed in clearing the ship and lashing the booms.
11	9	0
12	9	0			Noon. Heavy gales ; Admiral and Java in company. Course, S 50� W, distance 225 miles. Lat 21� 4� S, long 65� 11� E. Rodrigues, N 80� W, 180 miles.
P.M.
1	9	0	WSW	NE	P.M. Strong gales ; in fourth reef main-topsail ; the gale increasing, with a very heavy sea.
2	9	0			2. Signal no. 331 sent by Blenheim to Java. The ship is overpressed with sail, and cannot keep her station on that account. 2.30 Hauled up the foresail and reefed it ; carried away the fore-topmast backstay, repeated the knotted and spliced ditto. Blenheim and Java in company. 3. Signal no. 80 sent by Blenheim to General, to steer SW.
3	9	4
4	9	0	SW		4. Signal no. 80 sent by Blenheim to General, to steer SW by S. The Blenheim made another signal, which we could not make out. This was the last signal made by the Blenheim. The main-topsail-yard was carried away in the slings, owing to the lift and brace giving way ; endeavoured to furl the sail from the yard. At 5.20, lost sight of the Admiral, in a very heavy squall, bearing NW by N, distant half a mile ; and the Java, bearing NE by E, distant a quarter of a mile ; at this time we were shipping a great quantity of water. 5.30. The fore-topsail blew away from the fourth-reefed band ; the gale still continued to increase, with the most violent squalls of wind and rain, the vessel labouring very much, and the sea striking her in all directions very heavily ; stove several half-ports in, and much water going below ; kept the pumps continually going.
5	9	0	SW by S	NE by N
6	9	4	SW by W	NE by E
7	9	0	NNW	ESE	7.50. The main-royal-mast blew away ; the gale increased to a hurricane, and, shifting round in tremendous squalls to the eastward, obliged us to keep before the sea.
8	10	0
9	9	0
10	9	4
11	10	2
12	10	0
2 Feb 1807
A.M.
1	10	0	W	E	A.M. At this time we shipped a great quantity of water, which washed a great quantity of the shot-boxes to pieces.
2	10	2	W by N � N	E by S � S	2.10. The wind flew round from east to south in a most tremendous squall ; kept right before it ; a great quantity of water in the waist, so as to effect the vessel�s steerage very much ; most of the starboard ports either stove in or washed out, as also many of the larboard ones ; the squall still coming on with great violence, and a most enormous sea.
3	10	4	WNW	ESE	At 3, the fore-staysail blew away. 3.49. Shipped two seas, which filled the waist and waterlogged the brig for some minutes, which caused her to broach-to ; endeavoured to get the fore-sheet aft, but the foresail blew away from the yard, leaving the reef ; she went off, but did not rise to the sea ; the waist being full of water, a great quantity going forward she settled down by the head ; sounding the well, found it increased from 12 to 30 inches in two minutes ; hove the four foremost guns overboard, which relieved her much ; hove overboard all the round and canister shot on deck ; a great quantity of water having lodged in the wings between decks, got up all the old rope and some shot and threw it overboard ; the water in the waist flew with such violence from side to side as to wash the studding-sails and hammock-cloths, which were lashed under the booms, about the deck, and in consequence went overboard ; washed overboard the starboard binnacle and compass. At daylight, blowing most violently, employed in clearing the deck and splicing the rigging that was chafed through and cut in the night.
4	9	0	NW	SE
5	9	0	NNW	SSE
6	9	0	W by N	S by E
7	9	0
8	9	0	N	S
9	9	0
10	8	4
11	9	0
12	9	0			Noon. Strong gale. Course, S 67� W, distance 114 miles. Lat observed 19� 29� S, long 64� 26� E. Rodrigues, N 84� W, 64 miles.
P.M.
1	9	4	N	S	P.M. Strong gales and cloudy ; carpenters employed stopping up the ports ; got the old main-topsail-yard on deck and the remains of the old foresail, and bent the new one.
2	9	4
3	9	0
4	9	0			Ditto weather. 4.40 Reefed the foresail.
5	8	6			Strong gales, with squalls ; sent the top-gallant-mast down on deck.
6	9	0			More moderate ; the vessel labouring very much and shipping great quantities of water ; strong gales and cloudy weather.
7	9	0
8	7	4
9	7	2	ENE	WSW	Ditto weather.
10	7	0			Ditto weather.
11	7	0	E	W
12	7	0			Strong gales and cloudy ; the sea much agitated.
3 Feb 1807
A.M.
1	5	0	E	W	A.M. Strong gales and cloudy, and very heavy sea running.
2	5	0
3	5	0
4	5	0			Ditto weather.
5	2	4	SE	NW	Fresh gales and cloudy ; set the main-staysail, trysail, and mainsail ; bent a new fore-topsail ; employed rigging spare main-topsail-yard.
6	3	0	S	Variable
7	4	0	SW	N
8	4	0			Ditto weather ; split the mainsail.
9	7	6
10	8	0			Moderate and cloudy.
11	6	0
12	8	0	SW by W	NE	Moderate, with small rain. Course, NE 22� E, distance 110 miles. Lat 19� 42� S, long 65� E. Mauritius, S 83� W, 740 miles.
P.M.
1	7	6	SW	NE	P.M. Moderate and cloudy.
2	8	0
3	7	4	SW b W
4	7	4	S by W		Ditto weather.
5	7	2	SSW		Pointed the main-top-gallant-mast ; in third reef main-topsail.
6	7	2	SW by W		Ditto weather.
7	7	4	SW by S
8	7	0			Moderate, with small rain.
9	7	0			9.20. Hauled down the main-topmast-staysail.
10	7	0
11	8	4
12	7	6			Ditto weather.
4 Feb 1807
A.M.
1			SW by S	NE	A.M. Moderate, with small rain.
2
3
4					Fresh gales and cloudy, the vessel rolling very much.
5
6
7					Furled the mainsail ; in third reef of main-topsail
8					Windy looking weather, and the sea running very fast.
9
10
11
12					Noon. Ditto weather, & a very heavy sea. Lat 21� 18� S, long 62� 31� E. Cape of Good Hope, S 71� W, 2440 miles.
P.M.
1			SW by S	NE	P.M. Strong gales and squally ; got the top-gallant-masts down on deck, close-reefed the topsails, and furled the fore-topsail.
2
3
4					Strong gales and heavy rain ; got the jib-boom in, and the spritsail yard fore and aft.
5
6
7
8
9				E	Squally weather ; thunder and lightning in the south east quarter
10
11
12					Ditto weather ; a cross sea running.