Merchant Royal

An AP story appeared today that makes this recent find of Odyssey Marine very, very interesting indeed.

Read the Full Article: http://tinyurl.com/c5s8ql

"TAMPA, Fla. – Florida deep-sea explorers who found $500 million in sunken treasure two years ago say they have discovered another prized shipwreck: A legendary British man-of-war that sank in the English Channel 264 years ago.

Odyssey Marine Exploration hasn't found any gold this time, but it's looking for an even bigger jackpot. The company's research indicates the HMS Victory was carrying 4 tons of gold coins that could be worth considerably more than the treasure that Odyssey raised from a sunken Spanish galleon in 2007, co-founder Greg Stemm said ahead of a news conference set for Monday in London"

"The HMS Victory was returning from Lisbon, Portugal, and was probably
transporting 100,000 gold Portuguese coins for merchants, according
to Odyssey's research. The ship had sailed there to help rescue a
Mediterranean convoy blockaded by the French in the River Tagus at
Lisbon."

A golden coin recently found on a 500-year-old Portuguese shipwreck

"Odyssey said the 31 brass cannons and other evidence on the wreck
allowed definitive identification of the HMS Victory, 175-foot
sailing ship that was separated from its fleet during a storm and
sank in the English Channel on Oct. 4, 1744, with at least 900 men
aboard. The ship was the largest and, with 110 brass cannons, the
most heavily armed vessel of its day. It was the inspiration for the
HMS Victory famously commanded by Adm. Horatio Nelson decades later."

Odyssey Marine released a "Preliminary Survey & Identification" with some fantastic pictures of the shipwreck : http://tinyurl.com/cenvb9

Also release was this FAQ statement today. Full Release: http://tinyurl.com/dx6nm4

February 2, 2009

What was HMS Victory?

When launched, HMS Victory was the mightiest and most technically-advanced vessel of the age, armed with an astonishing 100 to 110 bronze cannon. Historically, she was the last Royal Navy warship to be lost at sea with a complete complement of bronze cannon.

Built in Portsmouth between 1726 and 1737, she was the fifth and penultimate Royal Navy ship to bear this auspicious name. Two of the greatest admirals in English history, Sir John Norris and Sir John Balchin, called her their flagship.

The direct predecessor and inspiration behind Nelson’s flagship, the Victory was a three-decked, first-rate Royal Navy warship weighing 1,921 tons, measuring 174 ft. 9 in. (approx. 53 m) in length, with a beam of 50 ft. 6 in. (approx. 15.5 m) and a depth of 20 ft. 6in. (approx. 6.25 m). Interestingly, Balchin’s Victory was approximately the same overall dimension as Nelson’s Victory, although the newer Victory was a much better design in terms of seaworthiness.

What is the significance of the cannon found at the site?

From the perspective of ordnance deployment, HMS Victory is unique as the last recorded Royal Navy warship to be lost bearing a full complement of bronze cannon. She was armed before bronze was phased out in favor of iron guns, which were less expensive to produce. The site is one of only two first-rates whose ordnance has ever been located underwater, the other having been salvaged in the late 18th century. However, unfortunately almost all of the bronze guns from the other ship were melted down as scrap in the late 18th and 19th centuries. In addition, the Victory site represents the only shipwreck ever discovered with an armament of 42-pounder cannon, the most powerful and prestigious guns used in Colonial naval warfare. The one recovered by Odyssey is the only known example in existence on land in the world.

Are coins or bullion believed to be on the site?

Research shows that substantial quantities of gold were being carried on a regular basis from Lisbon to England on the larger Royal Navy ships during this period. The Dutch financial publication Amsterdamsche Courant of November 18/19, 1744, reported that Balchin’s flagship carried a huge sum of money when she foundered: “People will have it that on board of the Victory was a sum of 400,000 pounds sterling that it had brought from Lisbon for our merchants.” Based on contemporary accounts of coinage being shipped from Lisbon at the time, this cargo most likely consisted of gold coins minted in Portugal and Brazil, although it could also have included other colonial coinage. If gold, this would equate to approximately 100,000 1 oz. gold coins weighing approximately 4 tons.

Additional research indicates that there were large quantities of both silver and gold coins aboard the Victory from enemy prize ships captured by Balchin’s fleet. Research suggests that this prize money will also likely be located at the wreck site.

What is the value of the coins believed to be on board the Victory?

Contemporaneous sources report the presence of £400,000 (1744 face value), which corresponds to approximately 4 tons of gold. The most common coins of the period that would have been transported from Lisbon to England would have been gold Portuguese and Brazilian coins. However, no coins have been located at the site to date, and no accurate assessment as to their value can be made prior to location, recovery and analysis.

Good work Odyssey.

Sir Robert Balchin~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Sir John Balchin

http://tinyurl.com/cgcams :Interview with Sir Robert Balchin on what the discovery means to him and his family.

Admiral Sir John Balchin was one of the most respected and longest-serving fighting officers in Royal Navy history. When he tragically drowned on HMS Victory on October 5, 1744, he had dedicated 58 years of service to king and country, sailing the waters of the West Indies, the Baltic, Mediterranean and English Channel on 13 different warships. Balchin was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1728, Vice-Admiral six years later, and, in August 1743, became Admiral of the White, the second highest naval appointment. Twice captured by the French and twice exonerated by courts martial, the Admiral’s illustrious career culminated in 1744, when, at the age of 74, he was called out of retirement to assume active command of the mightiest and most technically-advanced vessel of the age—the first-rate flagship HMS Victory.

Balchin began to rise to prominence after being appointed captain of the Virgin in 1697. From there he served as captain and later commander of the Firebrand (1697), Vulcan (1702), Adventure and Chester (1703-1707), Gloucester (1709), Colchester (1710-1715), Diamond (1715), Orford (1716), Shrewsbury (1718), Monmouth (1719) and Ipswich (1722-1725).

In April of 1744, the 74 year-old Admiral was appointed Governor of Greenwich Naval Hospital and was knighted by King George II for his long-standing service to his country. His new appointment was an honorable retirement from the active list.

Yet in July 1744, the sea-worn Balchin was rushed out of retirement and placed in command of the Royal Navy’s premier flagship HMS Victory, armed with an extraordinary 100 to 110 bronze cannon. The Admiral was called upon to rescue the Mediterranean victual convoy blockaded down the River Tagus by the Brest fleet. If these vital supplies failed to reach the Mediterranean fleet, England was at risk of losing the War of the Austrian Succession.

By late August, Balchin’s Victory accompanied by a large fleet of ships, arrived at the River Tagus at Lisbon immediately liberating the convoy and escorting it to Gibraltar. The French squadron of 12 ships retreated to Cadiz with Balchin in hot pursuit and blocking the fleet in port.

On his return voyage home, Balchin set sail from the coast of Galicia on September 28, yet shortly after entering the English Channel, a fierce storm arose, which dispersed his fleet. All of the sails safely reached England with the sole exception to Balchin’s Victory. When the Victory sank, approximately 900 sailors, plus a complement of marines and 50 volunteers drawn from the noblest families of England, were on board; all perished in the disaster, including the Admiral Sir John Balchin, tragically ending one of the most remarkable naval careers in British history.

When the Admiral’s death was reported, the public reaction to this national disaster was swift, and it was not long before a 10-foot marble monument was erected in his memory in the northern transept of Westminster Abbey. Above the lengthy inscription honoring Sir John Balchin, Admiral of the White, Squadron of his Majesty’s fleet, is a fine bas-relief showing HMS Victory dismasted and about to capsize in a raging sea. In the foreground a small, yet symbolic figure clings to a floating wooden anchor.

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