Fancy (ship)

Infobox Pirate Ship
name = Fancy
serviceyears = 1695-1696
motto =


caption = A contemporary image of the "Fancy" (shown in background) attacking Every's prey
nickname =
manufacture =


(Attributed)
allegience = Pirate
owner = Henry Avery
captains = Henry Avery
originalname = "Charles II"
renamed = "Fancy", 1694
captured =
fate = Fate unknown
battles =
notes =
displacement =
length =
beam =
draught =
propulsion =
complement = 150
armament = 46 guns|The "Fancy" was Henry Avery's ship, and was commanded by him between May 1694 to late 1695, when he retired from piracy and the fate of the "Fancy" becomes unknown.

History

The "Fancy" was initially a 46-gun privateer named "Charles II" - after Charles II of Spain - in Spanish service, commanded by a Captain Gibson, and was anchored at A Coruña, Spain. On May the 7th, 1694, Henry Avery and a few other conspirators organised and carried out a successful mutiny and, setting Captain Gibson ashore, left A Caruña for the Cape of Good Hope. At this time the "Charles II" was renamed "Fancy".

Upon arriving at the Cape, Every sailed to the island of Johanna (Anjouan) in the Comoros Islands, where he had the "Fancy" careened - removing barnacles and weed from the section of the hull that was permanently below water, increasing her speed. He also had the "Fancy" razeed, intentionally removing parts of the ship's superstructure in order to increase her speed. Following this work, the "Fancy" became one of the fastest ships active in the Indian Ocean, and Every used this speed to attack and take a French pirate ship, looting the vessel and recruiting approximately 40 of the crew to his own ship, leaving him with a total complement of around 150.

Every continued to be active in the Indian Ocean where he worked alongside other famous pirates of his time, including Thomas Tew. Most notable in his captures was the "Ganj-I-Sawai", a ship under the command of Aurangzeb. Mounting 62-cannons and four to five hundred musket-armed guards, cannon fire from the "Fancy" was instrumental in Every's victory - the first salvo caused a cannon to explode, and a number of gunners were killed. Every's career ended when the crew returned to Nassau, in the Bahamas, where Every returned to Britain aboard the sloop "Isaac".

Although the fate of the "Fancy" is unknown, it was rumored that Every gave her to governor of Nassau as bribe.