Captain Peter Nicolay Skibsted (12 January 1787 – 18 April 1832) was a Danish naval officer with a successful career marred only by the loss in 1810 of a squadron of three gunboats under his command to the British.

He was a good swimmer and his senior officer reported in July 1801 that he had completed a swim of 2880 alen (1800 meters in modern measurement) in 63 minutes.

Skibsted interrupted his teaching in August and September 1807 with service as commander of the gunboat Holbæk at the defence of Copenhagen.

Then when the British ship (which turned out to be Grinder) was close enough, the Danes were able to capture her after 90 minutes of hard rowing in the relatively windless air.

Skibsted decided to follow the safer route south and west from Copenhagen via Bøgestrøm, Svendborgsund, the Little Belt and Aarhus Bay[1] to get the squadron safely to the hunting grounds of the Kattegat off eastern Jutland.

However, before Skibsted could implement his plan to leave, a little after midnight 10 British boats, some equipped with carronades, and manned by some 200 sailors and marines attacked the Danish luggers.

The British came alongside the luggers and now the Danish troops on shore had to check their fire for fear of hitting their own countrymen.

Six months later, on 2 April 1812, a royal decree released him from any threat of further action relating to the events at Grenå but still required him to repay the court costs.

[Note 3] Thereafter he served with the gunboat flotilla at Helsingør, where there may have been some degree of ill-feeling as Skibsted complained of being refused service at a restaurant in the town.

[1] Peter Nicolay Skibsted died on 18 April 1832 in Copenhagen, and is buried in the churchyard of the Danish Naval Church ved Holmen.