Wyre Victory

The steel motor fishing vessel Wyre Victory was launched from the Beverley yard of Cook, Welton and Gemmell Ltd (Yard No 951) on 7th September 1959. She measured 41.46m x 8.46m x 4.35m and her tonnage was 398 gross tons, 135 net tons. She was powered by an 8 cylinder 4SA diesel engine by Mirrless, Bickerton and Day Ltd, Stockport delivering 860 brake horse power. Ordered by Wyre Trawlers Ltd., Fleetwood she joined their growing fleet of trawlers, registered in Fleetwood FD 181 on 9th January 1960.

In 1973 she was to become and active participant on the ‘Cod Wars’ when she had a serious run in with the Icelandic patrol vessel Odinn succeeding in entangling a rope round the Odinn’s propeller completely disabling the Icelandic vessel allowing the Wyre Victory, under the command of her skipper at the time Tom Watson, to escape unharmed.

On Tuesday 13th January 1976 the Wyre Victory departed from Fleetwood with a crew of seventeen men aboard under the command of skipper Alfred Watson bound for the Icelandic fishing grounds. She was accompanied by her sister ship Wyre Conqueror. As the two trawlers steamed north they were separated but kept in regular radio contact. Aboard the Wyre Victory the crew kept a close eye on the radar as they steamed north into the Minch intending to keep well away from the shore line. However, at 6:30am on the 14th the Wyre Conqueror’s radio crackled into action as a distress message from Wyre Victory was picked up saying she was in distress needing assistance near Heisker Lighthouse. The Caledonian MacBrayne car ferry Iona also answered the call and headed for the scene.

When the Wyre Conqueror reached the Wyre Victory, which was stranded on a reef called Mill Rocks near Oigh Sgeir Lighthouse they floated three lifeafts across to the stranded trawler and sixteen of the crew disembarked to be picked up by the Iona which had now also arrived at the scene. The skipper and the radio operator remained on board hoping to save the damaged trawler. However, after a brief inspection below which revealed a large hole in the trawler’s hull and the engine room half filled with water the two men also abandoned ship to be picked up by the Wyre Conqueror. The Wyre Conqueror stood by the stranded trawler hoping to attempt to tow her off. In fact she did float off herself on the rising tide but then drifted off shore and foundered. The crew were taken safely to Oban and then on the train to Glasgow and Fleetwood. In a newspaper interview with skipper Watson he suggested that they must have collided with floating debris as their position was miles from any land or sunken reefs that could otherwise have caused the damage to the hull. However, at the subsequent enquiry it emerged that a considerable amount of alcohol was available on board and that the bosun, Terence O’Flaherty, who was in charge at the time of her stranding, was a heavy drinker who had been drunk the night before they set out and had only three hours sleep. It also appeared that he had been been smoking pot that evening as well. The actual cause of the stranding was revealed. The formal enquiry heard that alcohol consumption on the trawler fleet was a widespread issue. In it’s conclusion it held that Wyre Trawlers were themselves substantially to blame for the loss because they had allowed the culture of drinking alcohol on their vessels to prevail. Skipper Watson was censured and bosun O’Flaherty had his certificate suspended for two years.

The wreck of the Wyre Victory has not been positively identified but the Hydrographic Department suggest that the wreck lying in position 56° 54.450’N, 006° 36.616’W is likely to be the Wyre Victory. The wreck, with dimensions 47 x 8 8 x 8 metres, is oriented 077/257 degrees lying in 97 metres with a least depth clearance of 89 metres. The location and dimensions of the wreck make it very likely this is the Wyre Victory.