Active (1801 whaler)

For other ships with the same name, see Active (ship).

Active was a French ship that came into British hands in 1800 as a prize. William Bennet purchased her and named her Active. He employed her as a whaler and she was lost in January 1803 at the start of her second whaling voyage.

History
France
Captured	1800[1]
United Kingdom
Name	Active
Owner	Daniel Bennett, Blackheath
Acquired	1801 by purchase of a prize
Fate	Lost January 1803
Notes	This vessel is frequently conflated with Active (1804 ship) because both were French prizes and whalers, with the same master and the same owner, with the second replacing the first within a year of the loss of the first.
General characteristics
Tons burthen	400,[2] or 419,[3] or 420,[2][4] or 430[1] (bm)
Length	116 ft 0 in (35.4 m)
Beam	30 ft 6 in (9.3 m)
Propulsion	Sail
Complement	35[3]
Armament	16 × 6&4-pounder guns[3]
Notes	Two decks and three masts

Career

Active was first listed in Lloyd's Register in 1801,^[2] and in the Register of Shipping for 1802.^[1] Both show her master as Jn. Dunn, her owner as Bennett, and her trade as London to the South Seas Fishery.

See also: List of ships owned by Daniel Bennett & Son

Captain John Dunn acquired a letter of marque on 16 May 1801.^[3] On 22 May Captain John A. Dunn sailed from England on a whaling voyage. He returned on 7 September 1802,^[5] having sailed from Saint Helena on 11 July, bound for England.^[6] She was valued at £9,000 in 1802.^[4]

Captain Lewis (or Louis) Blair sailed Active from England on 27 October 1802.^[5]

Fate

Active, Blair, master, was lost in January 1803 at the Island of Desolation.^[7] The Register of Shipping for 1804 still carried her with Blair as master.^[8]

In April 1804 Captain Blair acquired a letter of marque for the 1804 Active.