HMS Nimble (1811)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Nimble.

HMS Nimble was the name vessel of a two-vessel class of cutters built at Cowes in 1811 for the Royal Navy. Lieutenant John Reynolds commissioned her in 1812.

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Nimble
Ordered	21 January 1811
Builder	Thomas Gely, Cowes
Laid down	June 1811
Launched	17 December 1811
Fate	Wrecked 6 October 1812
General characteristics [1]
Class and type	Nimble-class cutter
Tons burthen	1446⁄94 (bm)
Length	Overall:63 ft 3+1⁄2 in (19.3 m) Keel:49 ft 2+5⁄8 in (15.0 m)
Beam	23 ft 5+1⁄2 in (7.2 m)
Depth of hold	10 ft 4 in (3.1 m)
Complement	50
Armament	10 × 12-pounder carronades

On 6 March 1812 she captured Danish sloop No.5.^[2]

On 25 May the Danish brig Anna Maria came into Hull. She and her cargo of hemp were a prize to Nimble.^[3] Nimble captured her on 12 April.^[4]

On 11 July she captured the Danish vessel Enigheden.^[5]

On 18 July Henry Weir of HMS Calypso reported that he had encountered the cutter Nimble, which had gone into Norwegian waters to reconnoiter after the Battle of Lyngør. Nimble had reported seeing four brigs at Christiansand: Allart, Seagull, Langeland, and Alsen.^[6]

Loss: Nimble was wrecked on a sunken rock a half-dozen miles from the Sälö Beacon, Sweden, during a violent storm in the Kattegat on 6 October 1812.^[7] At first light Swedish fishing boats came and rescued all the crew. Apparently, insufficient allowance had been made for the strong currents. The court martial reprimanded Lieutenant Reynolds for not having come on deck at 1:30 when warned of the nearness of land. The pilot also had failed to heed the warning and come on deck; he was reprimanded and ordered to forfeit three months pay.^[8]