HMS St Michael was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line

Ship of the line

A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

 of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

, built by John Tippetts of Portsmouth Dockyard and launched in 1669.

St Michael was rebuilt at Blackwall Yard

Blackwall Yard

Blackwall Yard was a shipyard on the Thames at Blackwall, London, engaged in ship building and later ship repairs for over 350 years. The yard closed in 1987...

 in 1706, at which time she was also renamed HMS Marlborough. On 5 April 1725 Marlborough was ordered to be taken to pieces and rebuilt at Chatham. She was relaunched on 25 September 1732.

Marlborough was reduced to a 68-gun ship in 1752. Whilst making her way back to Britain

Kingdom of Great Britain

The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...

 after participating in the reduction of Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

in 1762, Marlborough was caught in very heavy weather. On 29 November her crew were forced to abandon the ship, which was sinking. All of Marlborough's crew were taken off by .