Title
"Earl of Arran" Beached on St. Martins
Description
The Auxiliary packet Earl of Arran ran ashore on Irishman's ledge on the July 16 1872. Built in Paisley in 1860 for the Ardrossen to Arran passenger run, the Earl of Arran served in the Clyde from 1860 until 1868, when she worked excursions between Ayr and Troon before going south to Scilly in 1869.
The Earl of Arran left Penzance about 10am bound for St Mary's with a crew of eight hands, ninety-two passengers, mail, and general cargo. The vessel was detained at Penzance beyond her normal time for sailing.
On nearing the Scillies a passenger named Stephen Woodcock, who belonged to the crew of a local pilot-boat but was not himself a licensed pilot, suggested to the master that he could save time by taking a short-cut through St Martin's Neck, instead of the longer, normal passage through Crow Sound. Captain Deason replied that he knew of no such short-cut, but on Woodcock's assurance that he knew it well, agreed to let him take the packet through.
No sooner had the Earl of Arran got some distance into St Martin's neck than she struck a rock, and so severe was the damage that the vessel had to be run ashore on Nornour, where she became a total loss. The passengers and the whole of the cargo were saved, but nothing could be done for the paddle-steamer and she was broken up for scrap after she broke in two.
At a Board of Trade enquiry, Captain Deason was found guilty of a grave error in allowing passenger, of whose competency he had no knowledge, to take charge of his ship, and his certificate was suspended for four months.
Description from Richard Larn, Cornish Shipwrecks: Isles of Scilly (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1971), p.151.
The Earl of Arran left Penzance about 10am bound for St Mary's with a crew of eight hands, ninety-two passengers, mail, and general cargo. The vessel was detained at Penzance beyond her normal time for sailing.
On nearing the Scillies a passenger named Stephen Woodcock, who belonged to the crew of a local pilot-boat but was not himself a licensed pilot, suggested to the master that he could save time by taking a short-cut through St Martin's Neck, instead of the longer, normal passage through Crow Sound. Captain Deason replied that he knew of no such short-cut, but on Woodcock's assurance that he knew it well, agreed to let him take the packet through.
No sooner had the Earl of Arran got some distance into St Martin's neck than she struck a rock, and so severe was the damage that the vessel had to be run ashore on Nornour, where she became a total loss. The passengers and the whole of the cargo were saved, but nothing could be done for the paddle-steamer and she was broken up for scrap after she broke in two.
At a Board of Trade enquiry, Captain Deason was found guilty of a grave error in allowing passenger, of whose competency he had no knowledge, to take charge of his ship, and his certificate was suspended for four months.
Description from Richard Larn, Cornish Shipwrecks: Isles of Scilly (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1971), p.151.
Publisher
Morrab Library
Format
Print
Identifier
LPA 026
Coverage
St Martin's, Isles of Scilly