On 24 December 1811, a storm resulted in the wrecking of six vessels on the Haak Sand north of Texel and the loss of over 600 lives.
Grasshopper, The 74-gun, the ship-sloop, the brig-sloop and the hired armed ship left Göteborg on 18 December 1811 as escorts to a convoy of 15 transports and a fleet of merchantmen, some 120 sail or more. Four or five days later Egeria and Prince William separated, together with the vessels going to the Humber and Scotland, including most of the merchant vessels. The transports and a handful of the merchantmen proceeded with Hero and Grasshopper.[1]
On 24–25 December Hero and Grasshopper and the vessels they were escorting encountered a storm that result in the loss of most of them.[2]
| Vessel | Death toll | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hero | Loss of all but 12 of her 600 crew | She grounded and within 15 minutes the distress signals ceased; by next morning she was completely wrecked |
| Grasshopper | Only the pilot drowned | She crossed the sandbank but then was trapped and had to surrender to the Dutch the next day |
| Vessel | Death toll | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| [3] | 20 of the crew saved | |
| Beckman | Master and 13 crew lost | Of Baltimore; in ballast[4] |
| Centurion | Crew lost | Eight carronades |
| Flora | Part of the crew saved | Of 359 tons, sunk; 1500 barrels of powder & 250 chests of arms; a great number of chests are expected to be recovered |
| Rosina | Master and 17 crew lost | Of 350 tons; in ballast |