The Van Stable was a steel, barque rigged sailing ship, built by the Ateliers & Chantiers de la Loire shipyard at Nantes in France and launched in 1901. She measured 276.7′ x 40.3′ x 22.5′ and her tonnage was 2439 gross tons, 1777 net tons. She was registered in Dunkirk and owned by the Sociétés Voiliers Dunkerquois.
French barque built at Nantes 1901, of same dimensions and layout.
The Van Stable left Glasgow on Saturday 17th January 1903 under the command of her master Captain Quemper with twenty six crew. She was bound for San Fransisco via Hobart, with a valuable 3000 ton cargo which included pig iron goods and dutiable goods, mainly in casks. She was taken to open water by tug then her tow was slipped in the lower Clyde. This would be the last reported sighting of the Van Stabel for two weeks.
On the morning of Saturday 31st January, the Receiver of Wreck in Tigharry, North Uist was alerted to a large ship aground on the reefs offshore to the west. It was blowing a full gale and had been for most of that week, visibility was extremely poor and mountainous seas were rolling in from an Atlantic storm. He could see that the vessel was dismasted and had a sail streaming from what was left of the foremast. There was no possibility of communicating with the vessel and putting to sea in the conditions would be suicide. All the islanders could do was watch and pray for anyone aboard but there was no sign of life from the vessel nor any rockets or signals of distress.
The following day broke with more wind and rain. Overnight the wind had increased before it moderated slightly by daylight. The ship was gone. There was no sign of the vessel which had stranded on the Mid Dureberg Reef the previous day. Those close to the shore began to notice large quantities of debris being washed ashore including casks of spirit and various parts of a ship. At this stage there was still no sign of the crew nor any hint to the identity of the vessel.
The reef the vessel had been last seen on is six miles north of the Monach Islands (aka. Heisker Is.) and the same distance from the north west shore of North Uist. The reef is covered at high water and only shows between 1-2 metres at low tide. Much of the area north of the Monachs can only be navigated in small boats and, although there are a few deeper channels, these require local knowledge. As such, until the weather moderated, no-one could reach the wreck site to investigate. As news of the wreck and it’s cargo of spirits reached Stornoway, a Preventive Officer, Alexander Macdonald, was sent south to North Uist to manage the situation and secure any cargo on behalf of the Revenue and the owners. The steamer Asia was put on standby to travel from Stornoway once the weather moderated. She was to carry a small compliment of armed Coastguards.
Some days later two bodies were washed ashore. One was later identified from his marriage ring as Captain Quemper. Information slowly emerged suggesting the identity of the wreck revealing it was probably the Van Stabel. A message was found in a bottle washed a shore on Islay on 5th February. The note was signed C. Pasio, Mate – Van Stabel , and stated that their ship had been dismasted off Islay on 29th January.
Alexander Macdonald finally managed to reach the Monachs on 11th February. Here he found large quantities of wreckage and of course some of her valuable cargo but it is likely the islanders managed to recover some and perhaps put in ‘safe keeping’. Another bottle with a message had been found on the Monachs, similar to that on Islay but, this time, including a piece of paper with an imprint of the ships name – Van Stabel. The identity of the vessel was confirmed.
The Van Stabel clearly was torn apart in the storm. Some of her valuable cargo of wines and spirits would have floated out of the wreck, but the remainder of her cargo would have sunk with the hull. The crew lost their lives in the disaster so the full details of their ordeal will never be known.
We have not been unable to establish if the wreck was sold or if her remains were ever found. A search around the Mid Dureberg Reef could prove fruitful or perhaps in deeper water behind the reef (circa 25 metres) as she may have been pushed over the reef on the night she disappeared. The position we have assigned this wreck is in the middle of the Mid Dureberg, which is exposed at low water and this is 57° 34.973’N 07° 40.170’W.
