V

HMS Vestal Frigate [Sixth Rate, 28 Gun] (Royal Navy)
Built by Batsons, Thames; launched 24 December 1779. Two decks. Dimensions: length, 120 ft. 6"; breadth, 33 ft. 8.5"; 601 tons. Guns: 24 x 9 Pounders; 4 x 3 Pounders; 12 swivels. Crew: 200.
First served in North America off the Newfoundland coast in 1780; returned to Portsmouth in 1784 after wartime service; recommissioned in 1787; refitted at Portsmouth in May 1789 and sailed for the East Indies in September 1789. Returned to Britain in 1793 and performed duty in the North Sea and Channel until 1799. Fitted for troops in early 1800; recommissioned under Cmdr. Valentine Collard in February 1800 and took part as a storeship (en flute) in the Egyptian operations between 1801-1802. From 1803-1810 Vestal served as part of the Trinity House fleet providing sea defence of the Thames and London (from French attack); hulked in 1814, became a prison ship at Barbados; sold in 1816.
Macquarie refers to the Vestal first on 13 January 1790 upon her arrival at Bombay; then on 21 January 1790; 14 July 1790; 29 December 1790; and 25 September 1791 at Tellicherry [Thalaserri].
[Sources: Winfield, Rif. British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793-1817: design, construction, careers and fates. London: Chatham Publishing, 2005 p.378; Lyon, D. The Sailing Navy List... 1688-1860. p. 87].

Vostok (East): Russian Navy Sloop.
Launched in 1818 at the Okhta shipyard, St. Petersburg. Length: 129 feet 10 inches; breadth 32 feet 8 inches; 900 tons. Guns: 28. Crew: 117.
Macquarie refers to it as: Wostok.
Visited Sydney, NSW twice: 11 April [30 March] - 19 May [7 May] 1820; and 21 September [9 September] 1820 - 12 November [31 October] 1820. Commanded by Captain Faddey Faddeyevich (Thaddeus) von Bellingshausen (1778-1852).
[Sources: Barratt, Glynn. The Russians at Port Jackson 1814-1822. Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, 1981 p.20; The Voyage of Captain Bellinghausen to the Antarctic Seas 1819-1821. (ed.) Frank Debenham. London: Hakluyt Society, 1945 [2 vols] (see: Vol. 1 pp.6-9); Howgego, Raymond John. Encyclopedia of Exploration 1800 to 1850. Potts Point, NSW: Hordern House Rare Books, 2004 pp.41-43; personal communication: A. Massov (2006); argo.net.au/andre/VOSTOKEnfin.htm]

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