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Shannon every four seconds) left 148 American and 83 English sailors killed or wounded. Lawrence died of his wounds three days later. Shannon ’s victory caused a sensation in America and England, and Broke returned to a hero’s welcome. He eventually recovered from his wound but was unable to return to active service and was troubled with head pains for many years.
    Broke’s victory brought official recognition that in battle good gunnery is as important as bravery – and the subsequent establishment of the world’s first school of naval gunnery in 1830 at HMS Excellent , moored off the northwest corner of Portsmouth dockyard. Her larboard broadside was positioned to face Fareham Creek so that the firing of guns would not trouble civilians ashore.

HMS Shannon and USS Chesapeake.
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    IN THE DOLDRUMS – in a state of depression. DERIVATION : the Doldrums is a belt of winds between the trade winds of the northern and southern hemispheres. As ships passed through these latitudes there was often no breeze to fill the sails or cool the living spaces and they were becalmed in sweltering conditions, aimlessly drifting.
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T HE SEA LORD AND THE NOBLE SAVAGE
    Omai was the first Tahitian to visit England, arriving on board HMS Adventure on 14 July 1774. In his early twenties, he was brought at his own request from the Society Islands by Captain Tobias Furneaux, listed on the ship’s muster book as a supernumerary under the name Tetuby Homey. His family had once been wealthy landowners but had lost their property in tribal conflicts, and Omai, hoping the English might be able to help him seek revenge, had begged Furneaux to take him to ‘Britannia’. In England Omai became an exemplar of the ‘noble savage’ propounded by philosophers such as Rousseau.
    The eminent scientists Sir Joseph Banks and Dr Carl Solander, who were both familiar with the Tahitian language, took Omai under their wing and introduced him into society. He was personally welcomed by the First Lord of the Admiralty, the Earl of Sandwich. The sea lord entertained Omai at his country house, Hinchingbrooke, where guests experienced the novelty of feasting on meats cooked over hot stones Polynesian style. He took him on a tour of Chatham Dockyard and aboard HMS Victory , where Omai expressed great joy at seeing so large a ship. Omai was delighted with a suit of armour that his host had made for him by the artificers of the Tower of London.
    The sea lord’s protégé quickly became the toast of the town. He met George III twice and when first presented to the royal personage he declared, ‘How do, King Tosh.’ The monarch was so taken with the young man that he granted him a pension while he was in England. Omai dined with the great names of the day such as Samuel Johnson and Fanny Burney; he went to balls, the opera and attended the state opening of parliament. He loved indulging in various British pastimes such as shooting, skating and picnicking, was a frequent guest at Royal Society dinners and was painted by some of the great artists of the time, including Joshua Reynolds.
    Omai returned to Polynesia in 1777, on the last of Captain Cook’s voyages. He died there two years later, apparently of natural causes.
A CTUALLY …
    Captain Digby in HMS Africa , along with another British ship, HMS Conqueror , took on the Spanish flagship Santissima Trinidad at the Battle of Trafalgar. With rigging and sails hanging over her sides and the firing ceased, it appeared that the Spanish vessel had struck her colours, the signal of surrender. Digby sent Lieutenant Smith with a party of seamen to take possession. In accordance with the code of honour observed in naval engagements of that time Smith was courteously received by the Spanish officers, who then coldly informed him that in fact they had not actually surrendered and had no intention of doing so. They went on to explain that they had merely paused in the fighting to supply more powder to the guns; Smith