Loss
On 17 December 1773, the Royal Captain struck an uncharted reef in the South China Sea at 2:30 in the morning. The place where she struck is now known as Royal Captain Shoal and is some 46 miles (76 kilometers) from Palawan.
When she struck, in addition to her captain, Royal Captain was carrying six passengers and 99 crew members. Her cargo consisted of 100,000 pieces of Chinese porcelain, as well as tea, silk, glass beads and gold.
Even though the crew managed to free the ship twice, a third collision with the reef sealed her fate and she sank with the bulk of her cargo. All but three crewmen survived the sinking; the three sailors who drowned were apparently drunk and refused to take to the lifeboats.
The British ship Union picked up the survivors and carried them to Balambangan Island where, between 1761 and 1805, the East India Company maintained a free port. The crew returned home on Syren.
Read more about this topic: Royal Captain (East Indiaman)
Famous quotes containing the word loss:
“If but some vengeful god would call to me
From up the sky, and laugh: “Thou suffering thing,
Know that thy sorrow is my ecstasy,
That thy love’s loss is my hate’s profiting!””
—Thomas Hardy (1840–1928)
“Mothers risk alienating their mates if they expect them to hold or care for the baby exactly as they do. Fathers who are constantly criticized or corrected may lose interest in handling the baby, and this is a loss for everyone. The cycle is a dangerous one. Now the same mother feels bitter because she is no longer getting any help at home.”
—Cathy Rindner Tempelsman (20th century)
“Unthinking people will often try to teach you how to do the things which you can do better than you can be taught to do them. If you are sure of all this, you can start to add to your value as a mother by learning the things that can be taught, for the best of our civilization and culture offers much that is of value, if you can take it without loss of what comes to you naturally.”
—D.W. Winnicott (20th century)