- Betsey (schooner)
The Betsey was a
schooner wrecked in theChina Sea in 1805.The "Betsey" was a schooner of 75 tons under the command of
William Brooks and the mateEdward Luttrell . "Betsey" was sailing fromMacau ,China toSydney ,Australia when at 2.30am on 21 November 1805 it struck a reef. For three days the crew of twelve struggled to refloat the ship before abandoning the stricken vessel. Brooks, Lutterell and three Portuguese crew climbed into thejollyboat and the remaining crew abandoned the ship on a raft. The jollyboat and raft planned to travel together but a strong wind parted the two. The raft and its crew were never seen again. The jollyboat and its crew eventually madeBalambangan off the North Coast ofBorneo . Here they landed on the 2nd of December. Eleven natives attacked them. Brooks had both legs cut off and he died. One of the Portuguese crew was severely wounded as he made his way back to the boat. He died in the boat. Lutterell fought off the attackers and with the remaining two Portuguese headed back out to sea. Running short of food they approached some new islands on the 15th of December. As they were planning to land they were attacked by threeMalay prow s. One Portuguese was speared and killed and the other wounded. Both Lutterell and the surviving crew member were captured and kept as slaves. They were entirely naked and lived offsago . On 20 April 1806 they were put aboard a Prow and taken to Singapore and released. They both made it back toMalacca . [ "Australian Shipwrecks - vol1 1622-1850",Charles Bateson , AH and AW Reed, Sydney, 1972, ISBN 0 589 07112 2 p40 ]References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.