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GLENSHIEL SINKS OFF LADY ISLE
Glenshiel left Ayr at 4am on a voyage Glasgow-Portree (Isle of Skye) and proceeded North-West across the Firth of Clyde with almost continuous seas blowing over her port side and, without a tarpaulin over her hatch covers, seawater entered the vessel in a constant stream.
This caused her to take a list to port, followed by a shift in her cargo, consisting of 215 tons of coal, and she foundered about 30 minutes later.
She went down very suddenly, taking with her six of her seven man crew.
The vessel now lies in an average depth of 82 feet (25m) on her port side, half buried in silt, oriented 000/180 degrees with her bow pointing towards the south.
Her sunken position is in the Firth of Clyde, 2.75 nautical miles NWN of Ayr Harbour, in 55 29.09N 04 43.05W
Voyage Glasgow to Portree
A motor vessel, steel construction
Length 32.2 metres
Beam 7.41 metres
Draft 2.66 metres
Registered in Glasgow
Gross Tonnage 195
Owned by Glenlight Shipping, Glasgow.
Cargo: 215 tons of coal
Built 1959
Screw propulsion (propeller)
Oil engine.
From "The Ayrshire Post" dated 6th July 1973.
THE "GLEN SHIEL" MYSTERY
LONE SURVIVOR AS PUFFER SINKS OFF AYR
Mystery still surrounds the sinking, with the loss of the lives of five of the six men aboard the 230-ton capacity Glasgow coaster "Glen Shiel" between Ayr Harbour and Lady Isle early on Friday.
The dramatic news of the sinking brought about a prolonged air and sea hunt of the Firth of Clyde and a search by Police of stretches of the coast of Ayrshire
It was a sole survivor, a 21 year old deckhand, Jim Scott, of Victoria Cottage, Victoria Street, Portrush, Ulster, who brought first news of the tragedy about seven hours after he had jumped into the sea clutching a lifebelt.
Bruised and bleeding, he literally dragged himself ashore and to safety at Troon.
Scott came ashore near Troon Shipyard, and to make his presence known he had to crawl over rocks and twenty feet up a grassy bank
By good fortune his plight was spotted by two shipyard workers, plumbers Raymond Massey (22), and Hugh McDonald (28), who heard the deckhand's cries for help.
The young seaman was found lying on the bank clad only in a pair of trousers, and able at first only to gasp out that the "Glen Shiel" had sunk.
FIRST AID
He was carried to a nearby cottage occupied by a retired docker, James McKay (66), and his wife, and there was wrapped in blankets and given first aid prior to his transfer first to Ayr County and later to Ballochmyle Hospital.
Although exhausted, the survivor was able to tell the Police that he had been in his bunk when the puffer took a sudden list when only some ten miles out of Ayr. "I dived into the sea and saw two others also taken to the water. The "Glen Shiel" went down almost immediately," he explained.
Immediately the alarm was raised, all shipping in the area, including fishing boats, were asked to keep a look-out for survivors or any sign of the ship, and two helicopters from the Royal Navy base at H.M.S. Gannet, Prestwick Airport, and Troon Life-boat, joined in.
WRECKAGE
It was known that overnight the water temperature had been ten degrees Centigrade, which was very cold and lessened the chances of survivors being found.
Pieces of wreckage were discovered on the coast, and at noon one of the helicopters recovered one of the bodies - that of Welshman, Gordon Davies, (49), of Crinan, Argyll, a Forestry Commission Estate Officer, who had a fascination for puffers and had been a passenger.
Also aboard the "Glen Shiel" had been the skipper, Captain John West (58) of Gardenstown, Banffshire ; Thomas Farquhar (55) Chief Engineer, Port Gordon, near Buckie, Banffshire ;James Fairman (28) Second Engineer, Dunoon, Argyll; and John McInnes (26) the Mate, Ibrox, Glasgow.
The "Glen Shiel" had loaded coal for Portree, Skye, shortly after midnight and set sail at 1.45am.
She was due to call at Glasgow to pick up cargo for delivery at the new electricity power station at Inverkip.
BUBBLES OF OIL
During the afternoon bubbles of oil enabled the searchers to locate the sunken vessel at a spot about two and a half miles out from Ayr Harbour and a similar distance south of Lady Isle.
Naval divers from Faslane Submarine Base started an underwater search, the results of which will be incorporated in the report of an enquiry by the Department of Trade and Industry.
The "Glen Shiel," built at Peterhead in 1959, is owned by the Hay Hamilton Company and not only has been a regular carrier of goods to and from the Western Isles, but has been a familiar sight at Ayr Harbour.
It was learned later this week following the preliminary reports of the divers, that it is the hope and intention of the owners to bring the "Glen Shiel" back to the surface and, of course, that she should rejoin the Clyde puffer fleet.
Until she is refloated, it is not likely that the mystery of the sinking can be explained
On Tuesday, the sole survivor, Jim Scott, was allowed to leave Ballochmyle Hospital to return home to Portrush for a holiday.
Before leaving for home he said that he was feeling "not so bad" after his ordeal, and had every intention of returning to the sea as soon as possible. |
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