Bermuda Shipwrecks Hunter Galley Gold Proof

The wreck of the Hunter Galley is located east of the Hogfish Cut at the western end of Bermuda. Few details of the origins of the vessel have been recorded, but it is known that she was commanded by Clement Conyers on her passage to South Carolina from the island of St. Eustatius on 28 December 1751. During the early part of the voyage, gale force winds damaged the rigging, sails and ’top timbers’ forcing the ship to head to Bermuda for repair. The Captain, afraid crashing into the reef when another gale hit on 9 winds. The next day, Bermuda was visible and the ship headed for port. Because of the treacherous weather conditions, the Captain and crew could not get the ship into the harbour, and moored her in Hogfish Cut. Captain Conyers sent members of the crew to get an anchor and some rope to secure the vessel but they were unsuccessful and, during the night, the force of the winds battered the ship to such an extent that the next day the Captain was forced to cut away the mast, leaving the ship to sink. At the time of loss, the ship was engaged in the trades with the American Colonies and those of the Bahamas and West Indies. A shipping register from 1749 identifies the sloop Hunter Galley, the five guns and weighing forty tons, as built in Bermuda and launched in 1747. Manufactured goods from Europe and America, rum and sugar from the West Indies and stone from Bermuda would have been some of the cargo carried by this vessel.