THE WRECKS OF SKYE by Geoff Hide

THE WRECKS OF SKYE

by Geoff Hide

1. The Doris

The fog came down quickly as Captain Arentz, master of the Norwegian steamer Doris, sailed his ship up the West Coast of Scotland.

That morning,Monday 12th July 1909, the Doris left Liverpool for Stettin carrying a general cargo. They had made good time until they hit a bank of thick fog just south of Skye. Fresh westerly winds and a strong tide made navigation difficult. Suddenly, the black shiny rocks of Neist Point loomed out of the mist - the Captain had got it very wrong! The Doris crashed onto the rocks and was left stranded, her Number One hold rapidly filling up with water.

The crew, numbering thirteen, got off the ship safely, along with the Captain, his wife, child and sister-in-law! The Doris spent the next two weeks perched precariously on the rocks at Neist Point, North West Skye. During this time a considerable amount of her cargo was loaded onto two salvage coasters, Fred and Baron. By July 23rd she had broken up in heavy seas.

The Doris was a single decked steel screw steamer of 1381 tons gross and was built by Wood Skinner and Co., Newcastle, in 1900. She was 85m long, 12m wide and had a draught of 5m. The wreck of the Doris lies down a slope from 10m to 30m on the South side of Neist Point. The identity of the wreck, often misnamed Doric or Derrick, was confirmed in 1984 when some members of our branch, Edinburgh University, discovered a brass nameplate giving the name of the ship and builders.

The boiler of the wreck lies at 10m surrounded by kelp covered broken wreckage which is presumably the bow region. Down the slope from the boiler, the prop shaft can be followed along the base of the hull to 30m. Wreckage is scattered either side of the main hull and the emergency steering gear can be seen at the end of the wreckage at 30m. Two iron screws can be seen at 30m, some 20m to the starboard side of the wreck. One of these screws, a four bladed prop, presumably belongs to the Doris but the second screw is only three bladed and considerably smaller. Perhaps a second wreck lies at this site! The condition of the wreck itself is very poor but the diving here is magic as the wreck harbours a great profusion of colourful marine life. The most notable of which is fluorescent blue Cuckoo Wrasse. On one occasion at this site we saw a basking shark.

The gulley, in which the Doris lies, is impressive in its own right. At the shore end there is a very narrow gulley whose walls are completely covered with anemones. Further out, the gulley flattens and becomes wide and undulating and is a brilliant white colour because of the sandy bottom and rocks covered with Dead Men’s Fingers. Diving conditions on the wreck can be somewhat precarious at times as strong tidal streams prevail in this area. However, slack water can be calculated and occurs 2 hours before High Water and 4 hours after HW Dover. Boats can be launched at Meannish Pier in Loch Pooltiel (Grid reference NG 154507). The wreck, itself, can be found at grid reference NG 130467, just south of Neist Point Lighthouse. The accompanying map shows, in more detail, the exact location.

The site of the Doris is very exposed in south westerly winds and a drive up to Neist Point lighthouse to assess the conditions before planning a dive on this wreck is well worthwhile.

2. The Chadwick

Seventeen years earlier than the sinking of the Doris, another wrecking occurred less than a mile from Neist Point. The steamer Chadwick, registered at London, ran aground at An Ceannaich, at the North end of Oisgill Bay, on Saturday 2nd July 1892. The steamer, en route for St. Petersburg with coal from Glasgow, was left pivoted on the rocks with 20m of the stern overhanging a ledge and water flooding into the forward hold. A tug was dispatched from Greenock, to pull the 917 ton ship off the rocks, but by 6th July the Chadwick had slipped off into deeper water and only her bows were visible. The nineteen crew members had previously been rescued by a passing Mail steamer.

The Chadwick now lies in Oisgill Bay at the base of some 200m high cliffs (Grid reference NG132502). The easiest way to find the Chadwick is as follows.

On the rock promontary at Ceannaich there is a square shaped inlet facing SSW. Motor straight out (SSW) from this inlet using an echo-sounder. The depth will register 5-8 metres at first and then drop a sharply to 12-15m. Follow the drop off, continue on to 10-15m and then drop a shotline. This will lie on the bow section of the wreck. The wreck lies upside down in 15-25m of water. The bow section is very broken up and twisted but the stern section is reasonably intact. The wreck is covered with Dead Men’s Fingers and anemones. The wreck is especially good towards the stern where an archway under the hull of the wreck and the ferrous propeller is located. The wreck is usually teeming with sea life and visibility usually in excess of 20-30m which provides a first class dive. A closer look at rock around the wreck reveals that the rocks are actually huge lumps of good quality anthracite pieces of which are more than 0.5m across. As with the Doris, the tidal streams around the Chadwick can "exciting" but it is best dive on slack water which occurs 2 hours before and 4 hours after HW Dover.

3. The Rhodesia

Duntulm Bay, on the Northernmost tip of Skye is the location of another wreck, the armed trawler Rhodesia, built in 1899 and hired by Royal Navy in 1915. She ran aground at the south end of Tulm Island on 9th of April 1915 where she now lies almost intact, at a depth of 8m.

The 30m long trawler has a list of 60o to port and lies beside a steep slope at the south end of Tulm Island. Earlier in the year, before too much kelp growth occurs is the best time to dive this wreck. The wreck can be dived from bows to stern inside the wreck and the boiler and triple expansion engines are still in place. The wreck (grid reference NG 411747) is relatively easy to find (see map). In good visibility the wreck can be found by peering over the side of the boat with a mask. Boats can be launched at Camus Mor (NG 370707). Launching at Duntulm, behind the Duntulm Hotel is no longer permitted. The reason for this is unclear, but we suspect it may be due to unthoughtful behaviour by some divers in the past.

4. The Urlana

It was during bad weather that the steamship Urlana met its end. The 6852 ton ship ran ashore near Idrigill Point, North West Skye, on the 5th September 1943. The Urlana ran ashore at 1.57am GMT and by 2.27am she was pounding heavily against the rocks and breaking up quickly. Another vessel, the Thurland Castle, which was standing by, managed to recover 108 survivors from the Urlana. The survivors were landed at Loch Ewe later that day. The Urlana, owned by the British India Steam Navigation Company, was built in 1941 by Barclay Curle and Co., Glasgow. She was a single screw, two decked ship and was 140m long, 18m wide and had a draught of 10m. She was wrecked whilst en route from Buenos Aires to the U.K. Her cargo consisted mainly of wool and canned meat. Story has it that the local residents of North West Skye lived for some time on supplies of canned meat washed up from this wreck. The wreck now lies in 10m of water (Grid reference NG222379) just North of Idrigill Point.

The wreck broke up very quickly after running aground and is now well dispersed over a large area. The boilers lie some 100m west of the pinnacle shaped rock (see map). The site of the wreck is inhabited by a considerable variety of marine life and the shallow clear water, with gullies, makes the site excellent for underwater photography. The wreck site is littered with artefacts, especially quantities of ammunition, and "souvenirs" can be found.

Above water, the scenery around Idrigill Point is some of the most spectacular coastline around Skye. The high cliffs are punctuated by large caves, natural arches and waterfalls. The most impressive sight, though, is the three large stacks, MacLeods Maidens, which can be seen en route to the Urlana from the boat launch site at Harlosh.

Diving and Air available from Hebridean Diving Services, Shorepark, Lochbay, Waternish, Isle of Skye, 01470 592219. email: gordon07@globalnet.co.uk

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