Knowing how vital a fast sailing schooner was to the cane cutter passenger trade with Macoris and la Romana in Santo Domingo, Captain Arthur Carty of North Hill bought the sloop “Gazelle, in 1918, beached it and commissioned master shipwright and builder John Thomas Hughes of Sandy Ground to redesign the hull. The end result was the 63’ schooner “Warspite”, launched in 1919 and quickly became a legend in her own time. An immediate success because of her amazing speed and her captain’s good nature, Warspite became a household word in Anguilla and the Leeward Islands.

In 1929 the vessel was beached again in Sandy Ground and stretched to 76’, but maintained her reputation as the fastest sailing vessel ever built in the Eastern Caribbean.

Tales of ‘Warspite’s” performance are legendary. These include her arrival in Anguilla from La Romana in three and a half days, two whole days ahead of all the other schooners; and sailing through a fleet of schooners from the Windward Islands into the “3rd Boca” enroute to Port of Spain, Trinidad.

In 1954, enroute from Trinidad, Warspite sprung a leak. Efforts to keep her afloat seemed to be in vain and she was abandoned by her crew. After some time, and still afloat, her crew returned and sailed her into the harbour of Bequia where she sank alongside the jetty in shallow water. Elliot Carty traveled to Bequia and with the willing help of Bequia seamen re-floated Warspite, careened her and sailed her back to Anguilla where she was beached. Major rebuilding was done by Austin Connor and Egbert Connor. An engine was installed by Wallace Richardson and the vessel was launched again in 1955.

Warspite sailed mainly to the Leeward, Windward Islands and Trinidad. In 1960 Anguilla’s flag ship carried all workmen, equipment, construction material and supplies to Sombrero for the construction of a new Lighthouse.

Warspite was sunk in Road Bay, Anguilla during Hurricane Donna in September 1960, was again beached, repaired and worked for many years as the supply ship for Sombrero Lighthouse.

Warspite eventually met her demise in Road Bay in 1984 during hurricane Klaus.

A Line drawing of Warspite is imprinted on the Eastern Caribbean Currency ten dollar note.