First Fleet 1788 - Alexander

Duncan Sinclair

master of the Alexander, faced a series of problems throughout the voyage. On 12 May 1787, as the fleet got underway, 10 sailors on board the Alexander mutinied becuase they had not been paid; on 18 July 1787, when illness was rife, Sinclair had to be ordered to pump out the bilgewater. In October he was faced with a more serious mutiny among the crew and the convicts, and Surgeon Bowes surmised that it was caused by Sinclairs 'not exerting a proper spirit over them'.

In July 1788, convicts Susannah and Henry Cable successfully litigated against Sinclair for goods in his care, and he was ordered to pay 15 pounds in compensation. In September 1788, on the return voyage, the crews of the Friendship and Alexander were so weak from scurvy that it was decided to scuttle the Friendship, and to allow the crew a half share in the Alexander's cargo. Sinclair sighted the Island of Wight on 28 May 1789,
without further mishap.

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Alexander Index

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