Sulphur (H.M.S.)

Under command of Commander Belcher RN this vessel charted the Columbia River as far as the fort. Her visit to Vancouver Island in 1837 was the first of a British warship since 1796.

In 1839, while inbound to Fort Vancouver from a surveying mission, this vessel was stranded on Peacock Spit. This vessel was refloated and went back into service. This vessel was broken up in 1857 - the last bomb vessel afloat in the Royal Navy. Sulphur reached the capital of Russian America New Archangel, on 11 September where Governor Ivan Kupreyanov greeted the British with a colonial ball. After departing south, Sulphur reached the site of the first Nootka Convention, Yuquot, on 3 October. After meeting with local Nuu-chah-nulth dignitaries, the British vessel then went to the mouth of the Columbia River. Bad weather prevented the ship from visited from Fort Vancouver and instead sailed south for Yerba Buena in Alta California. Sulphur returned to the Columbia River on 28 July 1839. After visiting Fort Vancouver the expedition went south, reaching San Blas on 24 November, where it remained until December. Sailing for the Marquesas Islands, Sulphur reached the archipelago in January 1840.