[4] She was then employed in the East Country coal trade,[5] before being sent to St Petersburg in July 1786, for iron, hemp and planks.

[12] She was carrying 76 male and 21 female convicts, but there are small differences in various accounts of the number of people on board when she sailed.

[14] At the Cape of Good Hope, Walton was instructed to transfer all the women to other transports to make room for livestock purchased there for the colony.

[19] Not having had fresh provisions since October 1787, when they were at the Cape, both crews were suffering badly from scurvy, and over the following months, Alexander lost 10 men (out of 30), and Friendship, one (out of 17), with many of those remaining being too sick to work.

[20] In late October, off the south-east coast of Borneo, having exhausted themselves in negotiating the sandbanks of the Balabalagan Islands, and concerned about an attack by pirates, the decision was made to scuttle Friendship, the smaller of the two ships, and concentrate the remaining men on Alexander.

[22] On their return, the owners lodged a formal protest with the Navy Board, seeking to recover the cost of the ship and its furnishings.