Name Sapphire Class and type 32-gun fifth rate Launched June 1675 Builder Anthony Deane | Ordered 30 September 1675 Tons burthen 340 81/94 bm Draft 4.01 m | |
Fate Sunk on 11 September 1696 Length 105 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.