The steel steam trawler Exmouth was launched from the Selby yard of Cochrane and Sons Ltd (Yard No 514) on 5th March 1912. She measured 120.0′ x 21.5′ x 11.7′ and her tonnage was 236 gross tons, 92 net tons. She was powered by a triple expansion steam engine by C D Holmes and Co Ltd., Hull delivering 66 registered horse power.
She was ordered by the Western Steam Trawling Company of Bristol and registered there BL16. She was requisitioned for war service in August 1914 serving as minesweeper No 146 throughout the conflict. After the war she was purchased by Vulcan Steam Trawlers of Fleetwood before she was sold to her final owners Ora Trawlers Ltd., Fleetwood registered in that port FD336 .
Steam trawler Exmouth underway.
On March 2nd 1938 she departed from her home port and steamed north towards the fishing grounds off the west coast of Scotland. She was under the command of her regular skipper Ernest Edwards who had a crew of 10 men. By the evening of 8th March she was off the west coast of Islay and ‘working the light’ of Dubh Artach some 16 miles from the rocky outcrop. This involved using the light as a fixed point to steer her trawl back and forth towards and then away from the light. After a number of successful hours trawling back and forth in this manner her skipper ordered a course set south to take her down the west coast of Islay en route to her next fishing area off Otter Rock. At this point some estimated positions were taken based on the distance and direction from the light but no precise measurement was taken. This was to prove a fatal mistake.
As they steamed south at full speed in the early hours of the 9th March there was a strong westerly wind and swell and, although this was noticed and a slight course adjustment made to the westward to compensate, the lack of an accurate starting position for their voyage had them on a course dangerously close to the west coast of Islay. The skipper then went below leaving the vessel to be steered by the boatswain anticipating his next course check to be an observation of Oversay Lighthouse on Islay off their port bow. Some time later the helm was handed over to deckhand Richard Edwards and they continued south in the dark night. However shortly after 4am the skipper was rudely awakened in his bunk when the Exmouth grounded near Smaull on the Islay north west coast. It was immediately clear they were in great danger. The ship was bumping heavily in a westerly Atlantic swell. The skipper tried to pull her off by reversing engines but it was useless. The swell was pushing them further onto the rocks and, although initial checks showed that the hull was still in tact, it was only a matter of time before the hull plates began to give way.
Captain Edwards ordered the boat to be made ready while he tried in vain to pull his ship off using the engines but, with water now seeping through the straining hull plates, it was time to save the crew. At this point the second engineer, Henry Crisp, was washed over board and lost. Distress flares were fired and, with an unsuccessful attempt to get the boat in the water due to the heavy swell, the situation was getting more serious by the second. The skipper ordered the crew to the bridge to take shelter.
By 6am the Exmouth had a severe list to port and was in danger of rolling over and, with no rescue apparently in sight, the skipper ordered a line to be fired by Schermuly pistol rocket to attempt to reach the shore. Thankfully, at the second attempt, this proved to be successful and, with the Exmouth breaking up beneath them, the crew began to pull themselves across to the safety of the rocky shore. Unfortunately two of the men were swept off the line as they pulled through the surging surf and were lost. The remaining eight men made it to the shore and were pulled to safety by the locals who had, by this time, arrived at the scene. The Exmouth was to become a total wreck. We have assumed a position of 55° 49.573’N, 006° 27.656’W for the purpose of locating the wreck on our map, and is not based on any firm evidence such as finding the wreck, but is based on sight lines from the farmhouse and topography of rock platform in photographs.
