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Loweswater | Official Number
76389 |
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Loweswater | Official Number
76389 |
The Loweswater was an iron barque built by the Whitehaven Ship Building Company in November 1876, for Jackson & Metcalf of Liverpool. Her maiden voyage was from the Clyde to Brisbane under the command of Capt.Roberts, departing Glasgow on the 29th December and Greenock on the 2nd January 1877, and arriving on the 13th April. She was described by Australian newspapers as belonging to the Clyde Line, and she carried a mixed cargo and several passengers. She subsequently loaded a coal cargo at Newcastle for Hong Kong, then probably sailed in ballast to Astoria. Her voyage from Astoria (departed 29th Nov.1877) to Queenstown, Ireland, with a wheat cargo was reported in the Cumberland Pacquet newspaper as a "smart passage" of 113 days, though the name of the master was erroneously given as Capt.Richards.
In 1891 the Loweswater arrived at Melbourne, her passage described as follows:
The Argus, 27th July 1891;
The Loweswater, an iron clipper barque which has arrived in port, is
from Antwerp with a miscellaneous cargo. The leading lines are window
glass, rails, pig iron, and wire, starch, candles, beer and Geneva.
Both by sailing vessel and steamer, Antwerp is evidently taking up
taking up an improved position in her export trade to Australia. The
Loweswater belongs to the same line as the Crummock Water and the Rydal
Water,
well known in the Australian trade. She is a staunch little
craft of Whitehaven build, and has a very good record of making
passages. On this occasion, however, the winds for a great proportion
of the voyage were altogether too light to admit to anything like rapid
locomotion. An utter contrast to this was experienced in the Southern
Ocean, however, when the barque had a short sharp shock of hurricane
weather, which nearly sent her under. This was on July 7 in lat.40
deg.S and lon.78.30 deg.E, where the wind came from the N in force, and
rapidly increased to a hard gale. The barometer, which had been
indicating a change, fell to 28.30, and the warning was not unheeded.
For 18 hours the winf raged from N to W with hurricane violence, and
for six hours of that time it blew a perfect drift. During the paroxysm
of the gale a brand new maintopsail and mizen were whisked clean away
like a couple of cambric handkerchiefs. The barque was laid to, on the
port tack, without a stitch of canvas on her, and was fairly overborne
by sheer pressure of the wind. The shear poles were under water, and
the lower yards gave an occasional dip as she rolled to it. There was
also a fearful sea all round, which broke over the barque without let
or hindrance, and the spray or drift went flying clean over everything.
The poop ladders, light screens, and the contents of the cooking galley
were all swept away, and everything loose or movable on deck was washed
adrift. The position of the barque during the height of the gale was
perilous in the extreme, but she managed to keep within the limit of
the crucial angle of inclination, and ultimately righted herself. The
barque is under the command of Captain J.P.Fletcher, who reports taking
a departure from Antwerp on April 13, and carrying favourable breezes
to the Lizard, which was passed on April 18. Light winds marked the
passage all the way to the equator, which ws crosssed on May 13 in
lon.27.30 deg.W. Thense the winds were S.E. and easterly, and still
light as to force, to lat.33 deg.S, and lon.26 deg.W After that they
became variable. Tristan D'Acunha was passed and sighted on June 7, and
the meridian of the Cape of Good Hope was crossed on June 16 in
lat.38.30 deg.S. The easting was run down on the parallel of 40 deg.,
with moderate variable winds, chiefly easterly, to the meridian of
St.Paul's. The longitude of Cape Leuwin was crossed on July 16 in lat.
40 deg.S, and Cape Northumberland was passed on July 23. Thence the
barque met with strong easterly winds and rain. She has arrived in port
in very good order considering the rough usage to which she ws so
suddenly subjected. the barque has been taken up the riverto discharge
cargo at the wharf. The agents are Messrs.Jas.Service & Co."
That Captain Fletcher and the Loweswater could
deal with rough weather is thus in no doubt. Her loss eventually came
about from bad weather, but in the confines of the Irish Sea rather
than the open ocean.
The Loweswater left Liverpool under the command of Capt.G.P Fletcher, bound for Santos with coals, under tow of the tug Knight Templar, on the 21st December, 1894. The following day Lloyd's List reported that the tug had sought shelter in Llandudno Bay, "having the tow-rope hanging over her stern". The newspaper reported that the hawser had parted during the night, and that in the morning an unidentified barque had been seen standing off Holyhead, in thick mist and rain. On the 28th one of the lifeboats from the Loweswater was found at Hilbre Island, another with the body of a dead seaman at Hoylake. On the 31st a third lifeboat was reported picked up at Formby. The vessel was lost with all 15 crew in a Force 10 storm from the NW, it being believed that she had struck on West Hoyle bank, though the wreck was not found until 1939. Artefacts, including the vessel's bell, have subsequently been recovered.
Not mentioned in Lloyd's List is one more body that was washed ashore. This unknown sailor was found on the last day of 1894, floating off Rhos Point, Colwyn Bay. His only identification was a cross tattooed on his arm and a life-jacket with the ship’s name “Loweswater”. He was thought to be about 35 years. The ship owners claimed they could not identify the sailor and refused to help or attend the inquest. In the absence of any friends or relations, a public subscription was raised for his funeral. He was buried in the churchyard at St.Trillo's church, Rhos-on-Sea, with the inquest jury in attendance. The inscription on the grave reads :
" Here lies the body of a sailor
Name unknown
One of the crew of the Loweswater
Who was washed ashore at Rhos-[on-sea]
Dec 31st 1894
Supposed age 35 years. "
Some local histories of Whitehaven state that a previous barque named Loweswater
(792 tons) had supposedly been built
in 1873 by the Whitehaven Ship Building Co. If true, this vessel was
never registered in Britain under that name. It is probably a mistake.
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