Arniston (East Indiaman)

	Repulse, an East Indiaman from the same period and similar in size to Arniston
History
Great Britain
Owner	Messrs Borradailes of London,; 1794–1808: and managed by John Wedderburn; 1809–1813:Managed by Robert Hudson;
Builder	William Barnard, Deptford
Launched	1794
Fate	Wrecked, 30 May 1815 at Waenhuiskrans, South Africa
General characteristics
Type	East Indiaman
Tons burthen	1468, or 14338⁄94 (bm)
Length	176 ft 3 in (53.7 m) (overall); 143 ft 10 in (43.8 m) (keel);
Beam	43 ft 3+1⁄2 in (13.2 m)
Depth of hold	17 ft 6 in (5.3 m)
Propulsion	Sail
Complement	120–140 men
Armament	1797: 26 × 9 & 12-pounder guns; 1799: 26 × 12-pounder guns; 1804: 28 × 12-pounder guns + 10 × 18-pounder carronades; 1811: 38 x 12-pounder guns;

Arniston was an East Indiaman that made eight voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She was wrecked on 30 May 1815 during a storm at Waenhuiskrans, near Cape Agulhas, South Africa, with the loss of 372 lives – only six on board survived. She had been chartered as a troopship and was underway from Ceylon to England on a journey to repatriate wounded soldiers from the Kandyan Wars.

Controversially, the ship did not have a marine chronometer on board, a comparatively new navigational instrument that was an "easy and cheap addition to her equipment" that would have enabled her to determine her longitude accurately. Instead, she was forced to navigate through the heavy storm and strong currents using older, less reliable navigational aids and dead reckoning. Navigational difficulties and a lack of headway led to an incorrect assumption that Cape Agulhas was Cape Point. Consequently, Arniston was wrecked when her captain headed north for St Helena, operating on the incorrect belief the ship had already passed Cape Point.

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