10. Among the worst maritime disasters in British history, during the War of the Spanish Succession a Royal Navy fleet was mistakenly navigated onto rocks killing two thousand people.
After participating in the failed Siege of Toulon during the War of the Spanish Succession, a British fleet of fifteen ships of the line, as well as four fireships, a sloop, and a yacht, sailed for Portsmouth from Gibraltar. Departing from the recently captured Mediterranean possession on September 29, 1707, the fleet encountered poor weather from the outset. Worsening as the group entered the Atlantic via the Bay of Biscay, the ships were pushed off course by strong winds and rains. Entering the English Channel on October 22 after a fraught voyage, the sailing masters – the officers responsible for navigation – fatefully miscalculated their positions.
Believing they were already west of Ushant – an island off the coast of Brittany – the navigators charted what was thought a safe course. Positioned actually off the Isles of Scilly, before the navigators could correct their error the fleet struck submerged rocks. Sinking four ships – HMS Association, HMS Eagle, HMS Romney, and HMS Firebrand – in only a few minutes, the remainder of the fleet were able to alter course and avert greater losses. Costing between an estimated 1,400 and 2,000 lives, including the fleet Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, the incident remains one of the worst maritime disasters in British history.