The Bosun's Watch
S.T. Merisia FD153
Source: Dictionary of Shipwrecks off the Isle of Man by Adrian Corkhill c2001.
| Official Number | 132410 |
| Gross Tonnage | 291 |
| Length | 130 ft |
| Breadth | 23.5 ft |
| Draught | 12.5 ft |
| Built by | Cochrane & Sons, Selby, 1912 |
| Owner | Fleetwood Steam Fishing Co Ltd |
| 1912 |
To Fleetwood as a new vessel.
|
| 1914 - 1919 |
In service as a minesweeper. |
| January 26 1940 |
Merisia left Fleetwood at 2.15 to fish the home water grounds, her skipper was Edgar Neave.
During the night a snow storm came from the south east and drove her onto rocks in Bulgham Bay. Wind and sea conditions mde it impossible to launch the Ramsey lifeboat and the Douglas boat was out of service. It was left to the Port St. Mary boat to launch soon after 8:30, taking two hours to reach the scene of the stranding.
Because of the conditions George Kelly, coxswain of the boat, was unable to locate the wreck or approach too close to the rocks where she was reported ashore. This left the Ramsey Rocket Brigade as the only option to rescue the crew and they would have to be lowered down the cliff face to a position from where they could work.
In the meantime Merisia was filling with water and her decks were awash. Huge seas from the rising tide washed over her and she was badly holed. The crew of twelve climbed the rigging in desperation, washed by the waves. Mr. Crummey of the Ramsey Coastguard took his team down the cliff face with the salvage gear but was unfortunate enough to lose the rocket pistol that would be needed to get a line across to the stricken vessel.
By 10:00 a replacement had been lowered and an attempt made to fire a rocket across but the strong winds prevented it from reaching Merisia. At 2:45 after several further abortive attempts Mr. Crummey reported that all the men had gone from the rigging and the rescue was called off.
The following day the bodies of Edgar Neave, Hector Neave, Edward Crellin, Charles Mansell, James Mountford and William Hannon were washed up on the beach.
|
| Edgar Neave
|
Skipper
|
Fleetwood
|
| Hector Neave
|
|
Fleetwood
|
| George Neave
|
Mate
|
Fleetwood
|
| William Hannon
|
|
Oswaldtwistle
|
| Edward Crellin
|
|
Fleetwood
|
| James Mountford
|
|
Fleetwood
|
| Charles Mansell
|
|
Fleetwood
|
| Thomas Harrison
|
Boatswain
|
Fleetwood
|
| Richard Bennett
|
|
Fleetwood
|
| James Dryer
|
|
Fleetwood
|
| Bernhard Hearty
|
Chief Engineer
|
Fleetwood
|
| John Millet
|
Second Engineer
|
Fleetwood
|
|
![[First]](images/gallthumbs/bw_first.gif)
![[Prev]](images/gallthumbs/bw_prev.gif)
![[Index]](images/gallthumbs/bw_index.gif)
![[Next]](images/gallthumbs/bw_next.gif)
![[Last]](images/gallthumbs/bw_last.gif)
