The wreck of the S.S. OSSIAN, 13th February 1900.

The wreck of the S.S. OSSIAN, 13th February 1900. - Research and story by Robin Langford.

STEAMSHIP ASHORE AT PENDEEN - ST.IVES LIFEBOAT LAUNCHED

I have written this short story to remember the event and the courageous, selfless men who crewed the open rowing and sailing Lifeboat. They went to sea in any weather, wearing a sou’wester and a cork life jacket.

On Tuesday 13th February in the year 1900 a severe North Easterly gale was blowing across the County of Cornwall, it was also snowing heavily which created freezing blizzard conditions. Five inches of snow had settled across St.Ives and visibility was very poor due to the blinding snow. As usual the Coastguards kept a vigilant lookout along the coastline, however no distress signals had been reported.

At first light on Wednesday morning the weather had improved and the snow had melted. A stonemason who was working on the construction of Pendeen Lighthouse noticed a submerged Steamship inside the Three Stone Oar reef. There were three masts clearly visible above the water, but the steamship’s funnel, superstructure and hull could not be seen. It was also observed that there appeared to be a person clinging to the rigging of the Mizzenmast.

The Coastguard were notified immediately and attempts were made to launch a boat from Pendeen cove, however this proved impossible due to the heavy ground sea and large waves that were breaking on the shore. The shipwreck was also too far offshore to use the Rocket apparatus and Breeches Bouy. The large waves were constantly breaking over the stranded sailor but there were no signs of life.

Shortly before 9am the St.Ives Coastguard station received a telephone call reporting the disaster at Pendeen. Chief Officer Richards requested that the St.Ives Lifeboat should be launched immediately. This message was communicated to Mr Tresidder, the Honorary Secretary of the St.Ives Lifeboat station and he quickly summoned the crew.

There were two Lifeboats stationed at St.Ives during this time, the old 34ft - ten oared EXETER and the brand new, more powerful 37ft - 12 oared JAMES STEVENS No10 which had arrived on the 2nd of January. The EXETER was chosen and launched under the command of Second Coxswain Thomas Stevens, by 9.25am the Lifeboat was in the water and making its way to the shipwreck. Unfortunately the wind had now dropped considerably which meant that the Lifeboat crew had to row for the 9 mile passage from St.Ives to Pendeen. It was going to be a long, hard pull against the tide.

At about midday the sea state had also calmed down, so another attempt was made to launch a boat from Pendeen cove and this time they were successful. There was no sign of the Lifeboat arriving so they proceeded to row out to the shipwreck. As they approached the wreck they could see that the sailor in the rigging was clearly dead, almost certainly due to the exposure of the freezing conditions. The Coastguard removed the sailor from the rigging and then searched the area for any survivors, none were found and it was feared that the ship’s crew had all drowned so they returned to shore.

Once back on dry land the deceased sailor’s body was searched by Police Constable Cleave. A silver pocket watch was found, the glass was smashed and it was reading 5.25am - which is probably the time when the ship was wrecked. The watch was also engraved “Presented by the workmen employed at the Bridgewater Smelting Company, St. Helens, to Mr Edwin Tallon as a small token of their esteem. April 8th, 1873”.

The St.Ives Lifeboat arrived just before 2pm, it had taken the crew of 13 men over 4 hours to row the Lifeboat to Pendeen. They searched the area for survivors but none were found. There was also nothing found that could identify the name of the wrecked Steamship. Seeing that nothing more could be done, the Lifeboat set off for the return journey home. The wind was in their favour and they were able to sail back to St.Ives, arriving at 4pm.

The following week two more bodies were washed ashore and it was presumed that they had come from the shipwreck at Pendeen. One was tattooed with the initials C.B. and E.B. This proved to be Charles Bottle who was a fireman about the Steamship OSSIAN. The other body proved to be that of the Second Engineer who was also aboard the ill fated ship. The S.S. OSSIAN had a crew of nine but the rest of the crew were never found.

The OSSIAN was a British registered iron screw Steamship that was built in 1867 by Thomas Wingate & Co Shipbuilders & Engineers, Glasgow. The ship was fitted with a 2 cylinder compound steam engine that generated 25 hp. She was 118 ft long and 160 gross tons. The ship was well known in St.Ives having been previously crewed and commanded by St.Ives men.

Coxswain Thomas Quick was absent due to illness so Second Coxswain Thomas Stevens took command of the EXETER. The Lifeboat was crewed by: Daniel Ninnis, Richard Stevens, Thomas Veal, Richard Veal, Thomas Stevens junior, Thomas Bennetts, Richard Trevorrow, Harry Paynter, William Mason, William Peters, Edward Paynter and Henry Daniel.