Title
S.S Serica wrecked off St. Mary's, 1893
Description
The Serica, a fine steel screw, schooner-rigged steamer of 1,736 tons register. Her last voyage began at Cardiff on November 16th 1893, when she sailed for Port Said with a crew of twenty-five and a cargo of coal.
Bad weather was encountered the following day when off Hartland Point, and by dawn on the 18th the Serica was in trouble when the storm ripped the tarpaulin covers from off Nos 3 and 4 holds, flooded the main cabin and swept away everything that was moveable abaft the bridge.
Her captain, Sydney Smith, had a remarkable escape in that he was washed clean overboard twice, and twice was flung back aboard by the sea.
The Serica eventually reached Scilly on the 19th in a very distressed condition with pumps choked, serious damage on deck, and a heavy list. A local Receiver of the Wreck stated that "the only wonder is that the vessel kept afloat."
On November 24th, the Serica left St. Marys at low water to continue her voyage, but struck a rock and had to be run ashore 150 yards north-north west of Woolpack Beacon. She was abandoned almost immediately and only minor salvage was ever carried out on the wreck, all work ceasing on January 3rd 1894.
The rock the Serica struck was in fact, marked at lying in eight fathoms but was later found to be in less than twenty-four feet. It is doubtful if it was any consolation to her owners, but tat rock was given the name of the ship and today is marked on all charts as the Serica Rock.
Description taken from Richard Larn, Cornish Shipwrecks: Isles of Scilly (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1971), p. 106.
Bad weather was encountered the following day when off Hartland Point, and by dawn on the 18th the Serica was in trouble when the storm ripped the tarpaulin covers from off Nos 3 and 4 holds, flooded the main cabin and swept away everything that was moveable abaft the bridge.
Her captain, Sydney Smith, had a remarkable escape in that he was washed clean overboard twice, and twice was flung back aboard by the sea.
The Serica eventually reached Scilly on the 19th in a very distressed condition with pumps choked, serious damage on deck, and a heavy list. A local Receiver of the Wreck stated that "the only wonder is that the vessel kept afloat."
On November 24th, the Serica left St. Marys at low water to continue her voyage, but struck a rock and had to be run ashore 150 yards north-north west of Woolpack Beacon. She was abandoned almost immediately and only minor salvage was ever carried out on the wreck, all work ceasing on January 3rd 1894.
The rock the Serica struck was in fact, marked at lying in eight fathoms but was later found to be in less than twenty-four feet. It is doubtful if it was any consolation to her owners, but tat rock was given the name of the ship and today is marked on all charts as the Serica Rock.
Description taken from Richard Larn, Cornish Shipwrecks: Isles of Scilly (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1971), p. 106.
Date
1893-11-23
Rights
Morrab library
Identifier
RGN.032
Coverage
St. Marys, Isles of Scilly
Physical Dimensions
9" x 11"