| Career | - |
|---|---|
| Built: | Bremen, Germany |
| Launched: | 1840 |
| Fate: | Grounded on the Lincolnshire coast while returning home in 1869 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 355 tons |
| Length: | 117 ft (35.7 m) |
| Beam: | 29 ft (8.8 m) |
| Draught: | 17.5 ft (5.3 m) |
| Type: | Barque |
| Hull: | Wood |
| Propulsion: | 40 hp Steam Engine |
| Speed: | — |
| Range: | Limited by water and provisions |
| Complement: | 51 |
- See Diana (ship) for other ships of this name.
Diana was a whaling ship built in 1840, in Bremen, Germany. She sailed out of Hull, England. In 1858 a steam engine was installed, making her the first steam-powered whaler to sail from Hull (Tay from Dundee was the first ever, a year earlier).
Contents |
Trapped in the ice
In 1866, while on a sealing expedition in Baffin Bay, Diana became frozen in the ice, where it was trapped for over six months. The ship's captain, John Gravill, died. The diary of Dr. Charles Edward Smith, the ships doctor for the voyage, was published in the book From the Deep of the Sea. (ISBN 0-87021-932-4) There is a memorial fountain to Diana's return from the ice in the city of Lerwick in the Shetland Islands, as much of the crew was from there.
Fate
In 1869, while making her way back from the Davis Strait, Diana encountered a strong gale, and was washed into the Donna Nook sands, on the Lincolnshire coast, and broke up. Diana was the last whaling ship from the port of Hull. Her loss ended the whaling industry of the city.
Captains
This is a partial list of Captains of Diana:
- John Gravill Sr. (1856-57, 1861, 1865-1866 [died on board])
- John Gravill Jr. (1858-60)
- Robert Day (1868-Loss)
