Year
|
Month
|
Action
|
1699
|
Mar
|
le Hazardeux
keel laid down in L'Orient
|
Aug
|
le Hazardeux
launched
|
|
1701
|
Feb
|
le Hazardeux
commissioned into the French Navy as a Third Rate Ship of the Line with 50 guns.
|
Orders given to L'Orient to arm
le Hazardeux. Commanding
was
Francois Joubert de la Bastide,
Marquis de Châteaumorand.
|
Apr
|
le Hazardeux
joined Jean Bart's Northern Wing in Dunkerque. However, soon after, all major ships were moved to Rochefort.
|
May
|
le Hazardeux
given first major commission with
le Triton
as escort to four ships with 300,000 rations for Vice Admiral the Comte de Châteaurenault's fleet.
|
The Comte de Coëtlogon sailed with eight ships to Vera Cruz with orders to assist the Spanish return treasure ships.
|
Sep
|
Admiral Benbow sent to Jamaica with ten ships of the line to disrupt return of the Spanish treasure flota.
|
Châteaurenault left Brest for the West Indies with a large fleet of 27 ships of the line to counter Benbow
|
Dec
|
Châteaurenault's fleet arrived in Martinique on 22 December
|
The Comte de Coëtlogon, unable to discharge his orders, sailed for France on 27 December.
|
1702
|
Feb
|
Châteaurenault sent twelve of his weaker warships that he considered were not required, back to France and moved his base to Havana
|
Jun
|
Dysentery, malaria, scurvy and yellow fever killed many of the French sailors and senior officers, including the Commander of
le Hazardeux, the Marquis de Châteaumorand, who died in Havana on 9 June.
|
July
|
Châteaurenault eventually managed to pursued the Spanish and assembled his fleet in Havana. The combined French and Spanish fleet left for home
|
Aug
|
Two crewman deaths reported on
le Hazardeux
in Newfoundland
|
Sep
|
With his destination Port of Cadiz under attack by Admiral Rooke, Châteaurenault reluctantly agreed to divert to Vigo Bay in Galacia arriving 12 September.
|
One crewman death reported on
le Hazardeux
fighting the Dutch ship Amazon off Finistere.
|
Oct
|
On 12 October, Châteaurenault's fleet in Vigo suffered huge losses when Rooke, having learned of the fleet while returning to England from Cadiz, stormed Vigo Bay.
|
Nov
|
le Hazardeux
in Port-Louis
|
1703
|
Mar
|
le Hazardeux
loaned to the privateer Beaubriand-Lévesque as a replacement for
L'Alcyon.
|
June
|
le Hazardeux
sailed from Port Louis under command of Francis De La Rue escorting 33 merchant ships to Plaisance in Newfoundland
|
Aug
|
The arrival of Beaubriand-Lévesque with
le Juste
and
le Hazardeux, discouraged an English fleet under the command of Rear Admiral John Graydon, that was preparing an attack on Plaisance.
|
Oct
|
On 17 October,
le Hazardeux
and
le Juste
left Plaisance escorting French merchantmen heading for Port Louis.
|
Nov
|
In the afternoon of 13 November,
le Hazardeux
was spotted in the Soundings by ships of Sir Cloudesley Shovel's fleet returning from the Mediterranean. After several hours battle,
le Hazardeux
struck and the following day was towed to Falmouth. The captured crew was sent to Millbay Docks Prison in Plymouth.
|
Dec
|
It was decided
le Hazardeux
should be refitted for the Navy.
le Hazardeux
was renamed and Her Majesty's Ship
Hazardous
was first listed on 8 December with origin shown as 'taken from the French'.
|
1704
|
Feb
|
The Admiralty decided that
Hazardous
should be refitted at Plymouth. On 20 February, she was surveyed in Falmouth to assess what was required to get her into condition to move to Plymouth.
|
Mar
|
On 18 March,
Hazardous
was taken to Plymouth docks for refit.
|
On 27 March, the ship was taken into service as Her Majesty's Ship
Hazardous, a Fourth Rate with 54 guns under command of Captain Barrow Harris.
|
Apr
|
On 29 April
Hazardous
came out of dock.
|
May
|
Hazardous
sailed from Plymouth on 13 May as part of a squadron under Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell to blockade Brest.
|
Jun
|
Hazardous
anchored off Kinsale, Ireland on 3 June
|
On 6 June,
Hazardous
left Kinsale and by 9 June, was back in Plymouth Sound.
|
On 24 June
Hazardous
sailed as escort to merchantmen bound for Madeira and Lisbon
|
Aug
|
Hazardous
returned to Plymouth. For the rest of 1704,
Hazardous
was engaged in escorting merchant ships along the South Coast of England.
|
1705
|
Jan
|
Hazardous
returned to Plymouth for maintenance. During 1705,
Hazardous
was again to be used as escort in Channel waters,
|
Oct
|
A merchant convoy sailed for Virginia with Her Majesty's Ships
Woolwich
and
Advice
as escort, arriving 24 December. It
was ordered to wait until reinforced from England before returning. Her Majesty's Ships
Greenwich
and
Hazardous
were to sail on the first fair wind in January 1706.
|
Nov
|
Captain Harris received orders dated 28 Nov that
Hazardous
was to be prepared to sail for Virginia to escort merchant ships back to England.
|
Dec
|
Hazardous
returned to Plymouth on 9 December
|
1706
|
Jan
|
Captain Harris sets about removing ballast and unwanted stores making ready for docking.
|
Feb
|
On 2 February, Captain Richard Browne wrote to the Admiralty requesting, that as Captain Harris was 'desirous to change with me for the
Assistance, the Hazardous
being bound for Virginia and I have some business there', they be allowed to change.
|
Captain's log of 4 February shows that 'ye Officers of ye Yard' without their orders, would not take the ship into docks.
|
Mid February, Plymouth received the order that 'Hazardous be forthwith refitted there for a Voyage to Virginia and Clean'd and Grav'd with all possible dispatch'.
|
Captain Harris signed off his log on 19 February and the ship handed over to Captain Browne.
|
Mar
|
On 1 March, Captain Browne stated in a letter to the Admiralty, he was in Plymouth Sound and except for 100 bags of bread, was ready to sail as soon as
Greenwich
arrived.
|
On 8 March, Captain Browne reported that he had illness on the ship with 21 men sick and that 4 men had died.
|
Apr
|
Greenwich
arrived in Plymouth on 20 April. During April, Captain Browne wrote to The Admiralty several times regarding the sickness of his crew, probably typhus. He reported that 10 men had died.
|
On 21 April, Captain Browne reported that
Hazardous
required 36 men to complete the complement and was having some trouble getting them
|
Both
Greenwich
and
Hazardous
cleared Plymouth on 24 April
|
Both ships were forced by bad weather into Falmouth on 27 April.
|
On 29 April both ships sailed from Falmouth.
|
May
|
On 1 May,
Greenwich
was in collision with a ship carrying messages from Admiral Sir Stafford Fairborne and was forced to return to Plymouth for repairs.
|
July
|
Hazardous
continued on alone, arriving in Virginia on 29 July
|
Aug
|
Greenwich
sailed on 1 June arriving in Virginia on 11 August.
|
Sep
|
On 17 September, the fleet escorted by
Greenwich, Woolwich, Advice
and
Hazardous
left for England. The convoy is recorded as the largest to leave Virginia up to that date. The
Hazardous
Master's log states on leaving Virginia 'the whole fleet now consists of upwards 200 sail'.
|
On 24 September,
Hazardous
was damaged in a collision with a merchantman and
Greenwich
provided 4 men to assist repairs.
|
Oct
|
Hazardous
Master's log gives the picture of a convoy troubled by inclement weather from the start of the voyage. By 9 October the convoy was into 'hard gales and much rain'.
|
Nov
|
On 9 November as the convoy neared the Soundings, Hazardous and 37 ships left the convoy heading for The Downs.
|
At 6 am on 12 November, SSW of the Lizard, Captain Browne commanding
Hazardous, died and Lieutenant John Hares took over command.
|
On 13 November, after delivering merchantmen to Plymouth, Captain Lowen of
Advice
found
Hazardous, off Start Point, without a Captain, escorting 35 Virginia merchant ships bound for South coast and London ports and two Dutchman from Surinam. Captin Browne was buried at 3 pm that day. Lowen took over responsibility to deliver ships to their destinations.
|
About 3 o'clock on 15 November, Capt Lowen signalled the Masters to see what they wanted to do given the slow progress. The majority wanted to go on and try to reach Spithead even though many of them 'starved for want of provisions'. The weather started to deteriorate to 'moderate gales and close weather'.
|
The convoy struggled in worsening weather and adverse swinging winds. At noon on 17 November, according to Advice log, the ships were WSW of Dunnose in the Isle of Wight.
|
On 18 November with 'hard gales and much rain with dark close weather', winds shifted to the south, swinging SE and SW, the decision was made by Captain Lowen at 5pm to seek shelter in St Helen's Roads. Unknown to
Advice, Hazardous
had failed to secure anchorage. Throughout the night
Hazardous
was pushed further towards the shore by a strong SW wind.
|
At about 8 o'clock in the morning of 19 November, Lieutenant Hares had no option but to 'cut and run our ship onto shore for the preservation if possible of the ship'. The anchor warps were severed and the vessel was run as far into land as possible.
|
On 21 November The Commissioner of Portsmouth Dockyard took over responsibilty for
Hazardous
and instigated a salvage operation.
|
A party of 10, headed by Lieutenant Hares, was listed on
Hazardous
from 20 November as the only crew members formed to undertake salvage.
|
Dec
|
On 27 December at Spithead a Court Martial was convened to enquire into the loss of
Hazardous. Capt John Lowen and the Master of Advice
were dismissed the Service.
|
1707
|
Jan-Sep
|
Over this period, using local people and yard personnel, much of
Hazardous
was salvaged. 21 cannon and a large amount of ships's stores were recovered.
|
Oct
|
The Commissioner reported that
Hazardous
was breaking up and a large part had been driven ashore.
|
On 17 October the wreck of
Hazardous
was sold 'by inch of Candle' for £33 at Chichester
to John Day, a shipwright from Emsworth.
|
1715
|
The Calendar of Treasury Books shows a payment in the financial year 1715/1716 of an unspecified amount to 'Capt John Meric Cole, for salvage from the
Hazardous
man of war near Chichester'
|
|
1977
|
Although a gun was raised from the vicinity of the site in 1966, the wreck was not located by divers until stumbled upon by members of Sub-Aqua Association (SAA) 308 in 1977.
|