HMY Mary

The arrival of King Charles II of England in Rotterdam, 24 May 1660 by Lieve Verschuier. Charles sailed from Breda to Delft in May 1660 in a yacht owned by the Dutch East India Company. Charles received a replica as he was impressed.[1]
History
Dutch East India Company
Builder	Amsterdam
Cost	£644
Fate	Gifted by the City of Amsterdam to King Charles II
History
England
Name	Mary
Acquired	August 1660
Fate	Sunk on the Skerries, 25 March 1675
General characteristics
Type	Yacht
Tons burthen	92 tons bm
Length	50 ft (15 m)
Beam	18 ft 6 in (5.64 m)
Height	7 ft 4 in (2.24 m)
Draught	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Sail plan	Gaff rig
Crew	30 mariners, 20 gunners, 20 soldiers
Armament	8/6 x 3 pdrs
Notes	All figures taken from Winfield, Rif (2009). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. p. 250. ISBN 978-1-84832-040-6.

HMY Mary was the first Royal Yacht of the Royal Navy. She was built in 1660 by the Dutch East India Company. Then she was purchased by the City of Amsterdam and given to King Charles II, on the restoration of the monarchy, as part of the Dutch Gift. She struck rocks off Anglesey in thick fog on 25 March 1675 while en route from Dublin to Chester. Although 35 of the 74 crew and passengers were killed as the wreck quickly broke up, 39 managed to get to safety. The remains (bronze cannon) were independently discovered by two different diving groups in July 1971. After looters started to remove guns from the site, a rescue operation was organized and the remaining guns and other artifacts were taken to the Merseyside Museums for conservation and display. After the passing of the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973, she was designated as a protected site on 20 January 1974.