Bridgewater was launched in 1785 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC), which engaged her for six voyages. She then made two more as an "extra ship", that is, under voyage charters, and was lost at sea in 1805 while homeward bound from Bombay on her eighth voyage. Career EIC voyage #1 (1786-1787): Captain William Parker sailed from Portsmouth on 14 April 1786, bound for China. Bridgewater arrived at Whampoa Anchorage on 11 September. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 1 January 1787. She sailed via the Sunda Strait, where she saw , which too was returning to England from China. Bridgewater reached St Helena on 10 May, and arrived at Long Reach on 29 June. EIC voyage #2 (1788-1789): Captain Parker sailed from The Downs on 11 April 1788, bound for Madras and China. Bridgewater reached Madras on 19 August. She then visited Masulipatam on 13 September, before returning to Madras on 4 October. She reached Batavia on 18 November, and arrived at Whampoa on 4 February 1789. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 2 March, was at Macao on 21 March, and reached St Helena on 28 June. She arrived back in England on 1 September. EIC voyage #3 (1791-1793): Captain Gregory Moffat Lewin sailed from Portsmouth on 25 May 1791, bound for Madras, Bengal, and China. Bridgewater reached Madras on 9 October and arrived at Diamond Harbour on 23 November. On 5 December she passed Saugor, and by 11 January 1792 was at Vizagapatam. She stopped at Madras on 22 January and Nagore on 7 February. She returned to Madras on 16 February, and reached Bombay on 29 March. On 29 May she was again at Madras. Finally bound for China, she reached Penang on 14 July and Malacca on 1 September, before arriving at Whampoa on 19 September. Captain Lewin died two days before Bridgewater left for England. Her chief mate was Robert Reay. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 12 November, reached St Helena on 19 February 1793, and arrived at Long Reach on 22 April. France declared war on Great Britain on 1 February 1793. EIC voyage #4 (1794-1795): Capt William Parker acquired a letter of marque on 6 January 1794. The British government held Bridgewater at Portsmouth, together with a number of other Indiamen in anticipation of using them as transports for an