Scilly naval disaster of 1707

The Scilly naval disaster of 1707 was the loss of four warships of a Royal Navy fleet off the Isles of Scilly in severe weather on 22 October 1707. More than 1,400 sailors aboard the wrecked vessels lost their lives, making the incident one of the worst maritime disasters in the history of the British Isles. The main cause of the disaster was the navigators' inability to accurately calculate their positions.

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Led by the Commander-in-Chief of the British Fleets, Sir Cloudesley Shovell, a fleet of twenty-one ships left Gibraltar on 29 September, with HMS Association serving as his own flagship.

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The passage was marked by extremely bad weather and constant squalls and gales. As the fleet sailed out on the Atlantic, passing the Bay of Biscay on their way to England, the weather worsened and storms gradually pushed the ships off their planned course. Finally, on the night of 22 October 1707, the squadron entered the mouth of the English Channel and Shovell's sailing masters believed that they were on the last leg of their journey.

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The fleet was thought to be sailing safely west of Ushant, an island outpost off the coast of Brittany. However, because of a combination of the bad weather and the mariners' inability to accurately calculate their longitude, the fleet was off course and closing in on the Isles of Scilly instead. Before their mistake could be corrected, the fleet struck rocks and four ships were lost - HMS Association, HMS Eagle, HMS Romney and HMS Firebrand.

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One myth associated with the disaster alleges that a common sailor on the flagship tried to warn that the fleet was off course but Sir Cloudesley Shovell, had him hanged at the Yardarm for inciting mutiny. The story first appeared in the Scilly Isles in 1780 with the common sailor being a Scilly native who recognised the waters as being close to home.

HMS Association founders on the rocks

Sir Cloudesley Shovell

Source: Wikipedia

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