King George I being landed at Rye from the Royal Yacht Caroline, January, 1726

One of the consequences of the accession of George I to the English throne was his frequent absences to visit his native Hanover. During his short reign he made six journeys home to Germany and during one of the return crossings in January 1726, the weather was so stormy that his yacht and her escorts were unable to make the Thames estuary. After three uncomfortable days at sea, the Royal flotilla finally hove-to off Rye where, much to the amazement of the town's inhabitants, the King disembarked onto the beach from where he made his way to London. The King had made the Channel crossing in the 192-ton Caroline, the largest royal yacht then in service. She had been built at Sheerness in 1710 as the Peregrine but was renamed Caroline in 1716 in honour of the new Princess of Wales, later Queen Caroline, the wife of George II.