Ss Orestes

This dive site presents the wreck of HMS Orestes, a Dutch-built brig-sloop that served in the Royal Navy during the late 18th century. Originally a privateer named Mars, she was captured by the British in 1781 and went on to participate in the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War and the French Revolutionary Wars. Her career included service in the West Indies, on the French coast, and briefly in the Indian Ocean before her disappearance in 1799. The wreck lies at sea, presumed to have foundered due to a hurricane, with all crew members lost. This vessel was one of two captured in the North Sea that year, contributing to British anti-privateer efforts. The Orestes’s history offers an intriguing glimpse into naval life and maritime disasters of the period.