Curlew in charge of the gun boats and an armed pinnace to protect the landing, which was, however, unopposed. The bombardment of the town commenced on 6 December, from landed batteries of 12 pound guns and mortars as well as from sea. On 7 December, two 24-pound cannon from Liverpool were added to the land batteries. When the troops stormed the town on 9 December they found that the inhabitants had all fled. The siege cost the British five dead and 52 men wounded. The Arabs reportedly had lost a thousand dead. On the fall of Ras Al Khaimah, three ships - including Curlew - were sent to blockade nearby Rams, landing a force on 18 December which fought its way inland through date plantations to the hilltop fort of Dhayah on the 19th, where almost 400 men and another 400 women and children held out for three days under heavy fire until the two 24-pound cannon from Liverpool were once again pressed into use and, following two hours of fire, the last of the Al Qasimi surrendered on the morning of the 22nd. The town of Ras Al Khaimah was razed and a garrison was established there, consisting of 800 sepoys and artillery. The expedition then visited Jazirat Al Hamra, which was deserted, but then went on to bombard and destroy the fortifications and larger vessels of Umm Al Quwain, Ajman, Fasht, Sharjah, Abu Hail and Dubai. Ten vessels which had taken shelter in Bahrain were also destroyed. The Royal Navy suffered no casualties during the action. In December Commander George Gambier replaced Walpole who had received a promotion to Post-captain for his role in the attack on the pirates. Walpole returned to Britain as captain of . In April 1820 Lieutenant The Right Honourable Price Blackwood replaced Gambier. (Blackwood was promoted to Commander on 4 June 1821.) In November 1820 Curlew participated in another punitive expedition, but due to disagreement between Blackwood and Captain Thompson of the Army, a naval force did not accompany the army inland and so missed the debacle that followed. Later, Blackwood sailed Curlew to the China seas. Mercantile service: opium running On 28 December 1822, the Admiralty sold Curlew to James Matheson at Bombay for 15,100 rupees. He renamed her Jamesina. Jamesina proceeded to run opium for more than a decade thereafter. The reason Matheson bought a naval vessel was that the opium