Some ships were shipwrecked before they reached their destination, as was the case of the Amiral which was lost off the English coast near Hastings on 16 January 1792. It had been fitted out in Rouen on 1 March 1791. She was a sloop, that is to say a single-masted sailing ship with one jib (triangular sail) forward. Her capacity was 50 tons, or approximately 72 m3. She carried eight crew: a sailor, an officer, a cabin boy, four replacement crew and an apprentice.