HMS Pickle (1800)

A replica of HMS Pickle
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Pickle
Launched1799
AcquiredPurchased January 1801 as Sting
RenamedPickle, 1802
Honours &
awards
FateWrecked 27 July 1808
General characteristics
Class & typeTopsail schooner
Tons burthen127 (bm)
Length
  • 73 ft (22.3 m) (gundeck)
  • 56 ft 3+34 in (17.2 m)
Beam20 ft 7+14 in (6.3 m)
Depth of hold9 ft 6 in (2.9 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planGaff rig with square topsail on foremast
Complementabout 40
Armament8 × 12-pounder carronades

HMS Pickle was a topsail schooner of the Royal Navy. She was originally a civilian vessel named Sting, of six guns, that Lord Hugh Seymour purchased to use as a tender on the Jamaica station. Pickle was at the Battle of Trafalgar, and though she was too small to take part in the fighting, Pickle was the first ship to bring the news of Nelson's victory to Great Britain. She also participated in a notable single-ship action when she captured the French privateer Favorite in 1807. Pickle was wrecked in 1808, but without loss of life.