NameSapphire Class and type32-gun fifth rate LaunchedJune 1675 BuilderAnthony Deane
Ordered30 September 1675 Tons burthen340 81/94 bm Draft4.01 m
FateSunk on 11 September 1696 Length105 ft 8 in (32.2 m) (overall)
89 ft (27.1 m) (keel)
HMS Sapphire was a 32-gun fifth rate of the Royal Navy. She was designed and built by Sir Anthony Deane at Harwich in 1675, at a cost of £4,175.
In 1677 Sapphire was the first command of Cloudesley Shovell, who later became Admiral of the Fleet and eventually died in the Scilly naval disaster of 1707.
Sapphire was cornered in Bay Bulls Harbour by a French squadron in August–September 1696. Her master, Captain Thomas Cleasby, in fear that the French would capture the ship, scuttled her and escaped across land to the colony of Ferryland.
In Popular Culture
In the video game Assassin's Creed Rogue the HMS Sapphire's wreck could be visited by the Protagonist Shay Cormac at the North Atlantic. Once Shay collects all 24 Templar artifacts, he could claim an armor belonging from the original Knights Templar of the 11th century.