Loss of yacht Mignonette, 1884

The English yacht Mignonette set sail for Sydney, Australia, from Southampton on 19th May 1884. During the journey, the yacht got into difficulties and sank with the four-man crew abandoning ship for the lifeboat with little food and no fresh water. Towards mid-July they started discussions about sacrificing one of them for the others to eat. Towards the end of July, Richard Parker, the cabin boy, had fallen ill and while in a coma was killed by Tom Dudley and Edwin Stephens and cannibalised. The three survivors were subsequently picked up and taken to Falmouth; Dudley and Stephens were later tried for murder and convicted in a landmark ruling.
This image shows how the dinghy was managed in the heavy weather - the sea anchor improvised by captain Tom Dudley to keep the lifeboat stable

Anchor Cannibalism Desperate Dinghy Dudley Lifeboat Loss Mignonette Shipwreck Shipwrecks Stephens Surviving Survivors

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