Adonis-class schooner

The Adonis class was a Royal Navy class of twelve 10-gun schooners built under contract in Bermuda during the Napoleonic War. The class was an attempt by the Admiralty to harness the expertise of Bermudian shipbuilders who were renowned for their fast-sailing craft.^[1] The Admiralty ordered twelve vessels on 2 April 1804.

Class overview
Name	Adonis class
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Ballahoo (or Fish) class
Succeeded by	Cuckoo (or Bird) class
Planned	12
Completed	12
Lost	7
General characteristics [1]
Tons burthen	110 93⁄94 (bm)
Length	68 ft 2 in (20.8 m) (gundeck); 50 ft 5+5⁄8 in (15.4 m) (keel)
Beam	20 ft 4 in (6.2 m)
Depth of hold	10 ft 3 in (3.1 m)
Sail plan	Schooner
Complement	35
Armament	10 × 12-pounder carronades

Winfield reports, based on Admiralty records, that although all twelve were ordered as cutters, all were completed as (or converted to) schooners. An article in the Bermuda Historical Quarterly reports that eight were built as cutters (Alban, Bacchus, Barbara, Casandra, Claudia, Laura, Olympia, and Sylvia), and three as schooners (Adonis, Alphea, and Vesta). The account does not mention Zenobia, but does mention that Laura and Barbara (at least) were re-rigged as schooners.^[2] The discrepancy lies in the poor communications between the Navy Board in Britain and the builders in Bermuda, as well as in deficiencies of record-keeping. Alterations in the masting and rigging of small (unrated) combatants were not infrequent at this time.

Construction

The Navy Board ordered the vessels on 2 April 1804. Goodrich & Co acted as the main contractor to the Navy Board, and contracted out the actual building to different builders in different yards. In many cases the actual builder is unrecorded. All twelve vessels were apparently laid down in 1804 (but documentary evidence is lacking). Each vessel was launched and commissioned during 1806 (precise dates unrecorded).

The vessels were all constructed of Bermuda cedar. This durable, native wood, abundant in Bermuda, was strong and light, and did not need seasoning. Shipbuilders used it for framing as well as planking, which reduced vessel weight. It was also highly resistant to rot and marine borers, giving Bermudian vessels a potential lifespan of twenty years and more, even in the worm-infested waters of the Chesapeake and the Caribbean.

Operational lives

Of the twelve vessels in the class, seven were wartime losses. Five survived to be sold between 1814 and 1816.

Ships

Name	Builder	Launched	Fate
Adonis	Bermuda	1806	Sold 1 September 1814; became a mercantile vessel and was wrecked at the Maldives in June 1835
Alban	Bermuda	1806	Wrecked off Aldeburgh on 18 December 1812; all the crew drowned except 1 seaman and 1 woman.
Alphea	Bermuda	1806	Blew up in action with privateer off Start Point, Devon, on 10 September 1813; all crew lost.
Bacchus	Bermuda	1806	Captured by the French in August 1807
Barbara	Bermuda	1806	Sold 9 February 1815
Cassandra	Bermuda	1806	Capsized and sank off Bordeaux 13 August 1807 (11 men, plus a woman and child, drowned).
Claudia	Bermuda	1806	Wrecked off Kristiansand on 20 January 1809 (14 died).
Laura	Bermuda	1806	Taken by a French privateer off the Delaware River 9 September 1812. Recaptured in 1813, she did not return to Royal Navy service.
Olympia	Bermuda	1806	Sold on 9 February 1815.
Sylvia	Bermuda	1806	Sold at Plymouth on 30 May 1816. Became a merchantman that was wrecked in 1823.
Vesta	Bermuda	1806	Sold at Deptford on 11 January 1816. Became a merchantman sailing between Great Britain and Newfoundland until she sank in May 1823 after hitting an iceberg.
Zenobia	Bermuda	1806	Wrecked south of Cape Henry on 29 October 1806.

Citations

1. Winfield (2008), p. 360.
2. Bermuda Historical Quarterly, vol. 18 no2, 1961.

References

• Middleton, H.G. (1961). "A Listing of Naval Ships Built in Bermuda". Bermuda Historical Quarterly. 18 (2): 49–56.
• Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.