Ship Sunk in the Clyde

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Ship Sunk in the Clyde

Postby robertpool » Thu Jul 01, 2010 6:39 pm

does anyone have any info on a ship which sank in 1887 at Tower Point in the River Clyde

Cheers,

Bobby
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Re: Ship Sunk in the Clyde

Postby ibtg » Thu Jul 01, 2010 10:41 pm

Bobby,

Do you mean Toward Point? Can't see one in 1887 - the Lady Gertrude sank in 1877, the Ovington 1889, the Wallachia in 1895. Could it be any of those?

The Lady Gertrude was a paddle steamer, Ovington and Wallachia were iron steamships.

If it is one of them, I have more info.
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Re: Ship Sunk in the Clyde

Postby ibtg » Thu Jul 01, 2010 10:43 pm

One sank off Wemyss Bay 1888, the Princess of Wales, a steel paddle steamer.
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Re: Ship Sunk in the Clyde

Postby robertpool » Fri Jul 02, 2010 6:49 am

this is all l have. I guess the date may not be exact

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Re: Ship Sunk in the Clyde

Postby ibtg » Fri Jul 02, 2010 4:38 pm

The Wallachia seems to have been carrying whisky - I found this...........

http://www.congeralley.com/sites/wallachia.htm
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Re: Ship Sunk in the Clyde

Postby robertpool » Sat Jul 03, 2010 11:09 am

ibtg wrote:The Wallachia seems to have been carrying whisky - I found this...........

http://www.congeralley.com/sites/wallachia.htm


This could well be the the ship i'm looking for although the 'Sunk' date is 8 years out. The retrieval of any remaing cargo could have happened 10 years prior to the Girvan SAC discovering the wreck as there is no mention of any cargo salvage. My main concern is the dates on the bottle and where that information came from. I would guess that there was not too many ships sunk at Tower Point so l may have to invesrigate a little further before l accept the bottle came from the 'Wallachia'. Thanks for all your help in tracing this wreck, its much appreciated.

Bobby
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Re: Ship Sunk in the Clyde

Postby ibtg » Sat Jul 03, 2010 11:31 am

If the bottle came from a wreck off Toward Point, there were 5 wrecks in that area and a further 2 across from the point, off Wemyss Bay. The Wallachia seemed to be the only one with a cargo of beer and whisky.

Has anyone else an idea of where Tower Point might be?
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Re: Ship Sunk in the Clyde

Postby robertpool » Sat Jul 03, 2010 2:33 pm

Tower Point is at the tip of Dunoon
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Re: Ship Sunk in the Clyde

Postby dmf » Sat Jul 03, 2010 3:15 pm

Bobby,

The Wallachia sailed from Queens Dock, Glasgow at 10 am on 29th September 1895. She was bound for Trinidad and Demerara. Captain Walton and 21 crew carried a large general cargo of whisky, gin, beer, acids, glassware and earthenware and also some building materials and footwear. The vessel also carried one passenger.
The weather was foggy and the vessel was held up just off the Tail of the Bank. The fog lifted in the early afternoon and the vessel set off once more. About 4pm, the fog thickened again and the vessel ran aground off Innellan Pier but refloated on the incoming tide.
As they made their way down river, the captain became aware of a large steamer off his starboard bow. it was a Norwegian vessel called Flos. The inevitable happened and the Flos steamed into the starboard side of Wallachia, splitting her open about 10 feet from the stern.
The crew and passenger all made it safely to shore, rowing ashore at the Toward Point Lighthouse. The Wallachia sank by the bow 25 minutes after being struck. As she slipped below the waves, the vessel exploded.
In October that year, a salvage vessel, the Torch, sent divers down to the Wallachia, mainly to cut off her masts so as to become less of a hazard to other shipping, so it possible these divers also removed some of the cargo, if the could.
My info is that the wreck of the Wallachia was 'rediscovered' in 1977.
Hope this is of help to you.


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Re: Ship Sunk in the Clyde

Postby ibtg » Sat Jul 03, 2010 3:39 pm

Basically , that's the info I have. It is mentioned in the book 'Clyde Shipwrecks'. On the UK Diving forum, there is also a claim that the wreck was moved slightly to enable an exercise to be carried out in the Clyde and that made the retrieval of any bottles of whisky from the wreck even more dangerous than it already was. I think one person died trying.

Also the name of the whisky ties in with what the divers said about the wreck, quoting 'Wilkinsons famous liqueur whisky' as being engraved on some of the bottles.
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Re: Ship Sunk in the Clyde

Postby robertpool » Sun Jul 04, 2010 9:17 pm

ibtg wrote:If the bottle came from a wreck off Toward Point, there were 5 wrecks in that area and a further 2 across from the point, off Wemyss Bay. The Wallachia seemed to be the only one with a cargo of beer and whisky.

Has anyone else an idea of where Tower Point might be?


Where can l get the info on the dates of the sinkings of these 7 ships?

Bobby

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Re: Ship Sunk in the Clyde

Postby HollowHorn » Sun Jul 04, 2010 11:11 pm

Cracking thread.
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Re: Ship Sunk in the Clyde

Postby dmf » Mon Jul 05, 2010 6:12 pm

Bobby,

Off Toward Point:

Louise: 03/02/1893
Penola: 09/11/1940
Lady Gertrude: 16/01/1877
Ovington: 28/12/1889
Wallachia: 29/09/1895

Wemyss Bay side:

Kintyre: 18/09/1907
Princess of Wales: 16/06/1888


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