The wooden brig Iris was built in the Montrose yard of Charles Binnie and Son in 1857. She measured 111.7′ x 24,5′ x 14,3′ and her tonnage was 237 gross tons. She was built for Mr W Mitchell of Montrose. The details of her career are vague but it appears she was owned by George Watson of Sunderland by 1870 and registered in that port. Later she was purchased by Mr H Boyd of Ardrossan and moved operations to the west coast.
Lloyd’s register 1874
The details of her loss are not recorded but, on 24th February 1874, she was off the west coast of Skye with a cargo of coal under the command of her skipper Captain Hay. She was swept ashore, probably in a storm, and stranded. The crew landed safely but the vessel was in a dangerous position. The owner ordered a tug from Glasgow to attempt to tow her off. The Flying Squirrel set out from Glasgow on 7th March stopping off at Ardrossan to pick up a small boat full of wood intended for the repair of the Iris and set out with the small boat under tow heading for Skye. However before she could reach the site an order was received from the owner for her to return to Glasgow presumably because the Iris had become a total wreck in the meantime. Contemporary records are confusing with Lloyds List recording the wreck ashore near Portree but local fokelore records the wreck in the Waternish/Ardmore Bay area.
Greenock Telegraph 11th March
The specifics of wreck of the Iris were lost through time although locals in the Ardmore area were aware of the unidentified wreckage of a vessel in shallow water south of Ardmore Bay. The area was explored and surveyed by the Scottish Atlantic Maritime Past Heritage Investigation Research and Education (SAMPHIRE) project in 1914. The divers revealed the wreckage of a vessel consistent with the approximate age of the Iris scattered on a mud/rock seabed in depth of 10 – 12 metres in approximate position 57 32.697’W 06 37.810’W. However, some apparent remains of a steam engine have confused the researchers who believe this machinery could be auxiliary steam machinery rather than a main engine for the vessel. As such, we cannot confirm this broken wreckage is indeed the Iris.
