More information : `Further account of losses, etc. by the tremendous gale of Thursday and Friday...
`Rye, 3rd March. Arrived the ROSE IN JUNE Pkt, from Boulogne. She picked up on her passage a large boat, bottom upwards, marked "Robert Storey"...
`The ECONOMY, Storey, from Newcastle to London; and the FRIENDSHIP...were lost on the Goodwin Sand on Friday morning. Crew saved.' (1)
Wind conditions at Deal on 3 [March, printed as 8] NNW. (1)
`March 1820 witnessed the loss of the FRIENDSHIP...and the ECONOMY, of Newcastle, wrecked on sands in southern waters during a spell of stormy weather. Most of the crews survived. The men of the ECONOMY took to the boat as their ship began to break up. They tried rowing towards the land but became exhausted and cold. Luckily, they were spotted by boatmen from Ramsgate and landed at that port. Of the 11 crew, 4 had died from exposure.' (2)
`Deal, March 3. The FRIENDSHIP...and ECONOMY, Storey, from Newcastle to London, were totally lost this morning on the Goodwin Sands, crews saved.' (3)
`During the whole of yesterday the wind blew very storng from NNW, accompanied by sleet and snow...of 200 colliers which sailed from Shields a few days ago it is supposed that 116 were lost yesterday on the Knock John Sand; the fate of their crews is still uncertain. Among them was the OECONOMY, Storey, master, which went to pieces about 3 o'clock pm, when the captain and crew took to their boat, and endeavoured to make for land; but after some time they became too much exhausted...fortunately [they] were discovered about 7 o'clock this morning, and brought into this harbour by some boatmen belonging to Ramsgate. They were 11 in number; four were dead from cold and fatigue...The captain and six others are recovering...Captain Storey reports, that nearly 20 vessels were lost at the same time on the Sunk Sand...' (3)
NB: There appears to be some confusion with the FLORA [q.v.], whose master's name was also Storey, since that vessel was lost on the Sunk Sand, near the Knock John Sand, the location for the alternative place of loss given for the ECONOMY, whose Captain Storey additionally reported "several" vessels lost on the Sunk Sand. Since the majority of reports relating to the vessel lost in the Sunk/Knock John area give her name as the FLORA, this is assumed to be the vessel lost in that vicinity, and the ECONOMY the vessel lost on the Goodwin Sands. Each vessel has also been indexed with the other's name as an alternative version, to assist retrievability.
It would appear that the similarity of the masters' names led to some conflation of the two vessels; the name Storey was, and still is, a common name in the North-East, and it is conceivable that vessels crewed by members of the same family were sailing in convoy.
Master: Robert? Storey (1); Storey (3)
Crew: 11 (2)
Crew Lost: 4 (2)
Date of Loss Qualifier: A |