San Diego Sarah on 16 Oct 2024  •  Link

Terry Foreman on 14 Nov. 2013, after reading the only Pepys mention of The Newcastle on 17 January, 1661, tells us:
"From thence on board the Newcastle, to show my Lady the difference between a great and a small ship."

Newcastle was a 44-gun fourth-rate frigate of the English Royal Navy, originally built for the navy of the Commonwealth of England by Phineas Pett II at Ratcliffe, and launched in May 1653. ... Her first action came in 1655 when, along with fourteen other warships, she sailed into Porto Farina in Algiers to engage Barbary Pirates. This action resulted in the destruction of the entire pirate fleet, which won the Newcastle lineage its first battle honour. In 1657 she took part in Admiral Blake's daring attack on Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and in 1665, she fought at the Battle of Lowestoft.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS…

On October 15, 1661, Sandwich mentions The Newcastle FRIGATE serving with Adm. Sir John Lawson in the Med.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…

Early Modern frigates were small and fast.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
By the beginning of the 18th century frigates were classified as 5th and 6th rated, and had around 25 guns. It's possible they are two different ships -- or in 1661 the design of a frigate was less structured.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…