View source for Bee (ship)

{{Use Australian English|date=April 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
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| Ship name        = ''Bee''
| Ship owner        = Benjamin Crew
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| Ship fate        = Abandoned at sea 18&nbsp;July&nbsp;1806
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| Ship class        = [[Sloop]]
| Ship tons burthen    = 11 ([[Builder's Old Measurement|bm]])
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'''''Bee''''' was a [[sloop]] of 11 tons that was employed by the colonial government of [[New South Wales]] between 1801 and 1804. She sank in 1806 off [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]], New South Wales, [[Australia]].

==Colonial history==
Although her exact date of arrival is unclear, ''Bee'' was at [[Sydney]], New South Wales, by 30 June 1801.{{sfnp|Cumpston|1964|p=40}} Thereafter she was employed in public service for the colonial government of New South Wales. She was described as a "long boat decked" in good repair and crewed by a [[Sea captain|master]] and three [[Sailor|seamen]] who were to receive an extra ration from the stores. She was employed to bring [[grain]] to Sydney from different settlements and for various other purposes.<ref>''[[Historical Records of Australia]]'', Series I, Volume III, p. 700.</ref>

''Bee'' was under the command of [[Thomas Bryant (sailor)|Thomas Bryant]] when she sailed on 25&nbsp;June&nbsp;1806 from Sydney for the [[Hawkesbury River]]. On 28&nbsp;June&nbsp;1806 the ship ran into a storm that shifted her [[ballast]] and damaged her [[rigging]] and [[Mast (ship)|mast]]. All the food was washed overboard and the water barrel was smashed. On 29&nbsp;June&nbsp;1806 the storm abated and ''Bee'' joined with another small ship, ''Contest'', on the way to Newcastle. While ''Contest'' managed to get into harbour, ''Bee'' was becalmed just outside. A strong current then took the ship southwards when her [[anchor]] dragged.{{sfnp|Bateson|1972|p=43}}

Further [[squall]]s sprang up over the next couple of days and shredded what was left of ''Bee''′s sails. The two men crewing the ship, Bryant and the ship's owner, Benjamin Crew, were exhausted, hungry, and thirsty as the current then took them northward. On 12&nbsp;July&nbsp;1806, Bryant killed the ship's cat and they drank its blood, and on 16&nbsp;July&nbsp;1806 Bryant died. On 18&nbsp;July&nbsp;1806, Crew was able to get the attention of the passing United States [[whaler]], ''[[Brothers (ship)|Brothers]]'', Worth, master, which rescued him. ''Bee'' was left to drift and was never seen again. ''Brothers'' landed Crew at Sydney on 21&nbsp;July&nbsp;1806.{{sfnp|Bateson|1972|p=43}}

==Citations==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==References==
* {{cite book |author-link=Charles Bateson |last=Bateson |first=Charles |date=1972 |title=Australian Shipwrecks - vol 1 1622–1850 |location=Sydney |publisher=AH and AW Reed |isbn=0589071122 |page=61}}
* {{cite book |last=Cumpston |first=J.S. |title=Shipping arrivals & departures Sydney, 1788-1825 |year=1964 |publisher=Roebuck |location=Canberra}}

{{1806 shipwrecks}}
{{Navbox shipwrecks of New South Wales|Wreckshunter}}

{{coord missing|New South Wales}}

[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Hunter Region]]
[[Category:Individual sailing vessels]]
[[Category:1800s ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1806]]
[[Category:1788–1850 ships of Australia]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of Australia]]
[[Category:Sloops of Australia]]
[[Category:History of Newcastle, New South Wales]]