Sagittarius

The iron steam trawler Sagittarius was launched from the Victoria Dock yard of Earle’s Shipbuilding Co Ltd., Hull (Yard No 306) on 15th October 1887.  She measured 119.1′ x 20.2′ x 10.6′ and her tonnage was 195 gross, 90 net tons.  She was powered by a triple expansion steam engine by Earle delivering 38 nominal horse power. Built for the Grimsby and North Sea Steam Fishing Co Ltd she was registered GY137 on 6th December 1887 and operated from this port for thirteen years before she was sold to A/S Zodiac (Cornelius Roe) of Brevik, Norway.  In 1906 she returned to her previous owners in Grimsby, this time with fishing number GY149.  Another spell in Scandanavia followed, on this occasion in Sweden, and was followed by a return to the UK in 1915 where she was operated by Wenn Ltd of Great Yarmouth until 1925 before when she was purchased by her final owner, Alexander Jack of Glasgow.  

Even as late as the 1930’s it was not unusual for the steamships plying the waters of the Firth of Clyde to run aground and in most cases they escaped with only a few scrapes on the hull of the vessel and some minor embarrassment for the captain in charge.  When the Sagittarius ran aground between Polliwilline and Glenehervie on the east coast of Kintyre in the early hours of the morning of 19th June, 1930 there was very little alarm and, after the passengers had been safely ferried to the shore and taken care of, Captain Miller and his seven crew settled down to wait for a tug to arrive to pull them off.

She had been en route from Glasgow to the Hebrides with six passengers heading for a holiday in the Western Isles and a general cargo for her owners when she ran aground in dense fog.  The sea was flat calm and the tide was almost at its highest when she struck.  She ran aground so gently that the passengers aboard barely felt her hit and there was very little damage to the ship’s hull.

Her owners quickly dispatched one of their other vessels, Challenger, to pull her off but this plan was changed and the Glasgow and Liverpool salvage tug Flying Kite was sent to assist instead.  She arrived on the scene at 7:45pm on the 20th but by then the fate of the Sagittarius had been sealed.  She had run aground at high tide which made any approach at other states of the tide impossible.  The second bit of bad luck was that, unusually for the time of year, the flat calm of the night of her stranding changed to a stiff breeze and then to a full gale.  By the time the Flying Kite arrived at the scene she was being pounded by a heavy swell.  The master of the tug reported her listed forty five degrees to port with her stern completely submerged at high tide.  Already much of her cargo and gear was being washed ashore along the nearby beach.  The tug departed almost immediately leaving the ship to be sold where she lay.  

The remains of the Sagittarius lie in position 55° 20.061’N, 005° 32.972’W (GPS) which is on the north side of a tidal reef off Glenehervie. There is a view ashore within the site location information which should give a reasonable indication to fine tune the GPS co-ordinates. Be advised the site can be thick with kelp during the summer and requires a good search. The wreckage lies in depths of 2-8 metres and suggests the Sagittarius did not move much from the picture of her above. Inshore is the propshaft with some adjoining hull plating and, further offshore, the steam engine can be found which has fallen to starboard. A little further out is the boiler, which is sitting on end with much of its casing missing and the boiler tubes. The boiler and engine are close to the north side of the reef. A section of the bow lies within the reef itself in a deep gully, here a small winch or windlass can be found as well as a spare anchor and remains of a navigation light.