HMS Tyger
Royal Navy Fourth-Rate Ship-Of-The-Line · Great Britain · Lost 1742 · The Florida Keys
A 95-year-old Royal Navy warship chasing Spanish vessels off Cuba ran aground in the Dry Tortugas, marooning its crew for over two months.
The Vessel and Her Loss
HMS Tyger was patrolling for Spanish shipping during the War of Jenkins' Ear when she grounded on a reef near Garden Key on 13 January 1742. Despite jettisoning guns and anchors, the crew could not refloat the aging 50-gun ship, and 281 men were marooned on the island for 66 days, building shelters and fortifications, before rescue. The site, tentatively identified in the 1990s, was conclusively confirmed as Tyger by National Park Service and academic researchers in 2023-2024.
Vessel
- 1647
- Not established
- Not established
- Wood
- 130 ft
- Not established
- 704
- Sail
- Royal Navy
Loss
- January 13, 1742
- Grounding
- Reef near Garden Key, Dry Tortugas
- Gulf of Mexico
- Waters off Cuba
- Not established
- 281
- 0
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Scattered ballast, cannon and structural remains identified by NPS archaeologists.
- Not established
- 1993
- Within Dry Tortugas National Park; exact site location protected as an archaeological resource
Position
- Not established
- Position withheld to protect the site
- Garden Key, Dry Tortugas National Park
National Park Service does not publish the precise coordinates of this protected archaeological site.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)
National Park Service, Dry Tortugas National Park
Loss date, cause, crew fate, and 2024 identification announcement.
International Journal of Nautical Archaeology (Van Slyke & Marano, 2023)
Detailed identification research and vessel/crew background.
