The James A. Wright was a 3-masted timber hulled sailing ship built at Bath, Maine in the USA and launched in 1868. She measured 185.0′ x 37.0’x 24.0′ and her tonnage was 1273 register tons. She was valued at circa £7000. She was built for Mr Frank O. Moses of Bath, Maine and remained in his ownership until her loss. Although historical records don’t confirm it is also highly likely that Moses’ shipbuilding company were the builders of this vessel launched from his yard was located near the Bowery in Bath, Maine.
James A. Wright
The James A. Wright arrived at Liverpool at the end of September 1877 having completed her transatlantic crossing from Pascagoula with a general cargo. She departed Liverpool on the 8th November 1877, in ballast, bound for Tybee Island at the mouth of the Savannah River on the east coast of the USA.
The Western Approaches experienced very unsettled weather throughout the first week of their voyage, culminating in a violent south-westerly storm on the 15th and 16th November which affected large areas of Scotland including the Western Isles. Two foreign vessels in Stornoway Harbour were badly damaged and the Royal Mail steamer from Dunvegan was driven ashore at Lochmaddy after what were described as hurricane force winds at the height of the storm.
The James A. Wright was caught in the storm, and on the 17th November she was driven ashore at Baleshare Island on the west coast of North Uist. Fortunately her crew of eighteen, under the command of her master – S.H. Morrison, managed to get ashore safely. Contemporary sources state that the vessel was ‘bilged’ which suggests she struck rocks or a reef before going ashore on the silver sands at Baleshare. The stormy weather continued into the following week and the position for the wreck looked bleak.
Auction notice for 5th December.
The wreck eventually went to auction on the 5th December in Liverpool and the sale was concluded by mid December. We could not establish how successful any salvage works were, although local reports suggest that parts of the vessel were adapted and incorporated into dwellings in the locality.
Location of wreck
The remains of the James A. Wright lie in the inter tidal zone on Baleshare beach, North Uist in position 57° 31.190’N, 07° 22.666’W. The remains consist of the main keel, lower parts of main ribs and some planking of the hull. The wreckage lies SW/NE and is only fully exposed on exceptionally low spring tides. At loss the hull was noted as being sheathed (to waterline) with yellow metal (brass). It is likely this would have been removed around the time of her loss. The sands around the wreck are in constant flux, moving and shifting to expose or fully cover the wreck which has helped to preserve the remains from the often ferocious Atlantic storms.
