Golden Gift

The wooden steam drifter Golden Gift was launched from the Lowestoft yard of Samuel Richards and Co. Ltd (Yard No 163) in 1910 and completed in August that year. She measured 83.6′ x 19.2′ x 9.4’and her tonnage was 90 gross tons, 42 net tons. She was powered by a 30 horse power steam engine. Built for William Harvey of Kessingland, Lowestoft she was registered LT706 on 10th August. She continued to operate from Lowestoft for various owners until she was acquired by her final owner, Mr George H Catchpole, also of Lowestoft, in the late 1930s.

Details of her loss are vague due to wartime reporting restrictions although it is known she was not lost as a direct result of war action. After surviving war service during the Great War she was requisitioned once more from her owner G Catchpole of Lowestoft in November of 1939 for Navy harbour duties and stationed at Oban. At 1:58pm on the afternoon of April 6th, 1943 she was run down by the SS Lochinvar. The collision swung the drifter round and onto the beach just north of the North Pier allowing the crew to jump ashore without even getting their feet wet. However the collision had smashed the side of the Golden Gift in the engine room area and she quickly filled, slipped off the beach and sank near the shore. The seabed here slopes steeply and she disappeared completely beneath the surface.

The remains of the Golden Gift lie where she sank close to the shore north of the North Pier, Oban Bay in position 56° 24.974’N, 005° 28.551’W. The wreck, which is easily accessible from the shore, lies at the foot of a muddy slope in 12 – 14 metres on her side with all wooden structures gone and only the crumbling metal framework and boiler remaining.  Latest dive reports indicate some of the wreckage still stands proud of the seabed but these reports are not recent. The wreck is covered in sealife but the silty nature of the area makes the visibility reduce rapidly. For many years now it has been forbidden to dive in the Oban Harbour area and, as such, the wreck is off limits, unless you can convince the Harbourmaster to give you permission for a dive. The latest survey in 2013 reported little visible wreckage although there is still enough on site to show up on sidescan image shown above.