On this Day – September 15th

Wreck on Doom Bar

HMS Whiting was built in 1811 in Baltimore (USA) – she was seized in 1812 by the British navy vessel seized her under Orders in Council, for trading with the French. The Royal Navy re-fitted her and then took her into service and in 1816 Whiting was sent to patrol the Irish Sea for smugglers.

On 18 August 1816, Whiting, under the command of Lieutenant John Jackson, was ordered to leave Plymouth and sail around Land's End to the Irish Sea to counter smuggling in the area. On 15 September 1816, to escape a gale, Jackson took his vessel into harbour at Padstow on the north coast of Cornwall. The wind dropped as they came around Stepper Point, and the ship ran aground on the Doom Bar as the tide was ebbing, stranding her.

According to the court-martial transcripts, an attempt to move Whiting was made at the next high tide, but she was taking on water and it became impossible to save her. Her abandonment happened over the next few days. The court martial board reprimanded Lieutenant Jackson for having attempted to enter the harbour without a pilot and for his failure to lighten her before trying to get her off; as punishment he lost one year's seniority. Five crewmen took advantage of the opportunity to desert; three were recaptured and were given "50 lashes with nine tails". Whiting was eventually sold and despite correspondence requesting her move eleven years later, the Navy took no further interest in her.

In May 2010, ProMare and the Nautical Archaeology Society, with the help of Padstow Primary School, mounted a search to find Whiting. They conducted a geophysical survey that recorded a number of suitable targets that divers subsequently investigated. One target is located only 27 yards from the calculated position of the wreck but sand completely covers the site, preventing further investigation at this time.

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