Rathlin Island Wreck List
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Vessel Type:

Steam Trawler

Location:Co. Antrim
Date of Loss:5th October 1921Place:Rathlin Island
Cause of Loss:Ran ashoreBoat Dive from:Ballycastle
Charted Depth:6mIrish O.S. Map:Discovery Series No. 5
Height of Wreck:ScatteredAdmiralty Chart No:2798
Hull Material:SteelLatitude (approx.):55° 17' 50" North
Type of Seabed:Rocks and kelpLongitude (approx.):06° 10' 00" West
Average Visibility:10 - 15mConvert Lat. & Long. to -Decimal - CLICK HERE
Image available?Yes - see below Diving Experience:Experienced Novice
 
Diving Information:
  • The wreckage lies about 300m North of Bruce's Castle.
  • The boiler can be seen just under the surface.
  • Engine, boiler and broken plating are still there.
  • Some portholes have been recovered by divers.
  • Visibility is usually good.
  • Subject to strong ebb tide (about 5 knots).
  • Dive on flood tide.
  • There is a fee to use the slip at Ballycastle Harbour.
 
Historical Information:
  • Built by Cochrane & Sons, Ltd of Selby in 1916, she measured 130.2 x 23.4 x 13.5ft., and grossed 289 tons. Her official number was 139207.
  • On completion she went immediately into service as a Royal Navy minesweeper before being handed over to her owners, J. Marr & Co. Ltd., in 1919.
  • Bound Fleetwood for the fishing grounds on the West of Ireland, she ran onto a reef while in dense fog, to the North of Bruce's Castle.
  • The crew managed to row ashore in the ship's lifeboat.
  • An unsuccessful attempt to refloat her was made by a salvage company, but she was too badly holed.
  • Much was removed by the islanders, including the life-boat which was used locally for many years.
 

S.F.V. Gavina

© by kind permission of fleetwood-trawlers web site

Source Publications:
by
Roy Stokes & Liam Dowling
"Shipwreck Index of Ireland"
by
Richard & Bridget Larn
Lloyd's Register - Fairplay Ltd 2002 - ISBN: 1900839970
"Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast 932 - 1997"
by
Dr. Edward J. Bourke
Edward J. Bourke 1998 - ISBN: 0952302713
"The Harsh Winds of Rathlin"
by
Tommy Cecil
Impact Printing 1990 - ISBN: 0948154659
 

Other Sources:

Randal Armstrong
-
Castlereagh SAC (1995)

Rathlin Island Wreck List

Last update - 25-Oct-2005

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