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All Smyrna pages/images/text unless stated ©Leigh
Bishop 2002 all rights reserved
'Smyrna' Lost Lady of a Golden
Age
Online article by Leigh Bishop
In April 1888 the 'Smyrna' of the Aberdeen White
Star line became one of the only known Clipper ships to be lost
off the south coast of England. Leigh Bishop was with the team that
made history of her discovery, a decade later he returned to bring
home the first images.
It's been ten years since the wreck of the Clipper ship 'Smyrna'
was first discovered off the coast of Dorset on the very southern
tip of England. Looking back now as a member of a small team
that first explored the wreck I was little aware of the historical
significance as to what I had actually become involved in. Indeed
I was a younger naive man, some 24 years of age, a mere youngster
surrounded by veteran wreck hunters whom I aspired to, looked
up to and wanted to be. I had the nametag of apprentice, was
regularly patted on the head and of course was always last to
enter the water! The 24th of June1993 was no ordinary days wreck
diving under any circumstances. I distinctly remember the tension
before the dive, the extreme cutting atmosphere and especially
the excitement after we surfaced. Ten years on it is only now
that I so realise how much that day in history meant to those
divers whom ventured down to the Smyrna for the very first time.
On that day in 93 I knew we had done good, I went with the flow,
but one thing I didn’t understand was
the true sense of the days celebrations, what it all actually
meant.
|
 |
| As I swim the wreck of the Smyrna ten years on it is only
now that the full impact of that special day hits me. In some
ways my heart brings disappointment at my youth and lack of
understanding of the time! Another side of me spells outright
privilege to have simply been there, to have set eyes on this
grand Clipper for the first ever time, a real shipwreck, an
elegant lady lost to 'The Golden age of Sail' over a century
before. The English wreck hunters of June 1993 have become as
part of the Smyrna's history as the days when she gracefully
sailed the world. Historic days when she shared the oceans against
such rivals as the famous Cutty Sark and the Flying cloud. This
is a story of shipwreck and discovery in its every true sense,
the story of a single known Clipper ship left to English Heritage,
the story of a true lady her name 'The Smyrna'. |
April 28th 1888.
She is decked fore and aft with Iron, and has watertight compartments;
she is a nearly new steamer having only been built six months
before and carries a crew of 13 hands all told. She left Bilbao
at 2 am on Thursday bound for the Tyne, England. All seemed
well for her, her being the Newcastle steamship 'Moto' an iron
screw steamer of 1,449 gross tons built by Messers Rb Fenwick
& J Reay. For Captain Henry Digman and his brother the chief
mate all seemed well as they made progress through the channel.
The weather was thick and boasted a good sailing breeze. With
many eyes on lookout a large sailing vessel was seen approaching
the port bow in full sail. Fearing a collision Digman ordered
engines to be reversed, then after three or four minutes the
'Moto' almost comes to a standstill. The 'Smyrna' approaches
fast! She is a fully rigged Clipper of 1,305tons built in 1875
for the Aberdeen White Star Line. Today she is commanded by
Captain Thomas Taylor and left London on Tuesday with twenty-eight
hands all told. Smyrna's holds have a full load of general cargo
bound for Sydney, New South Wales. As Digman aboard the Moto
looked on he realised a collision could not be avoided, and
the Smyrna was struck near her main rigging and a great hole
made in her side, causing her to founder in a very short time-some
say as quickly as four minutes, while others put it at nearer
ten. As the vessels pass Alexander Walker second mate of the
Smyrna jumps aboard the Moto, then after another two of the
ill-fated Clippers crew are later pulled aboard and saved. |
|
A small vause rests under the hull of the wreck. |
24TH June 1993
Five divers look on as a shot line is hooked into the unknown
vessel that lies below, the charter vessel James Alexandra of
Poole circumnavigates a single red buoy and skipper David Saywell
appears more than happy she's tight and fast. Dressed in oil
stained jeans and yellow wellingtons he gathers the five divers
for a briefing on the small foredeck. As a slight breeze opens
a loose fitting shirt he wipes the sweat from his forehead in
the heat of the English sun before he speaks. Saywell knows
his divers are about to make their deepest ascent to date, there
is no mixed gas and the 32 fathoms depth is as standard cutting
edge to English wrecks divers as it gets for the time considered.
|
| Saywell's words are of safety and his raised tone indicates
that he means it. The conditions are superb an oily calm day
in the Channel is more than pleasant as the divers roll off
the gunnel into the clear water. As they descend down through
the rays of penetrating sunlight they are little aware that
they are about to become the first privileged divers to visit
a fine example of a Clipper ship, that is of course the lost
shipwreck of the Smyrna. Partnering 'Uncle' Nick Legras as he
descends is an English gent by the name of David Wendes or as
some referrer to him 'The Master'. Wendes is indeed a true master
of English shipwreck research and identification and it is these
waters off the Isle of Wight that he has searched for shipwrecks
since wood could float. Wendes carries the clout this is his
patch, his ground and Wendes knows that the Smyrna is here,
---somewhere! |
The makers plate of Smyrna restored after being
recovered in 2002. |
Known to local shell fishermen the divers are
happy to share their knowledge of the wrecks below and release
lost tackle in exchange for fresh information on recent finds.
Wendes has received numbers for another possible new shipwreck
and charters Saywell to take his small team to the wreck.
Indeed the divers had infact discovered the Smyrna although
positive clarification would not come until a later date the
same year. As they discovered 32 fathoms below the Smyrna lay
silent her tons and tons of cargo tops her holds and on display
for all whom would thus dare venture down to her decks. The
divers would admit themselves narcosis had set in, although
they were not about to let this distract them from making the
best analysis of what lay on the seabed as they possibly could
under the circumstances prevailing.
|
| Wendes was certain they had found the Smyrna and
the divers returned to the wreck for the remaining season to
explore her in greater detail. With the greater depths imposed
the divers took to the new concept of mix gas diving, and in
order to explore Smyrna realistically they also became one of
the earliest groups of trimix divers in England. The team returned
with more colleagues and began to recover items of her general
cargo then in late September Danny Purchase recovered a single
plate with the words and crest of the 'Aberdeen White Star Line'.
Armed with his best information to date Wendes then checked
the company records stating that only a single vessel belonging
to the company had infact been lost in the English Channel.
As if there was any doubt the Smyrna was now positively identified.
|
Flagons still on the wreck over 10years after
her initial discovery. |
April 28th 1888
Digman orders three of his boats into the water and his crew
begin to work hard in order to save life. They succeed in rescuing
another fifteen making a total of eighteen souls. Three of the
Smyrna's men named Smith, the steward, Johnston, the chief mate,
and Urquhart, an apprentice went down with the vessel although
amazingly came back up again. In all including Captain Taylor
twelve lives were lost; Captain Digman and his crew however
did all in their power to rescue the crew of the Smyrna. Moto
was kept about the spot for over an hour, in hope of rendering
further assistance, but without avail she too had her bows badly
stoved in, both above and below water line. Moto could thank
her designers for her watertight compartments had saved her
from a similar fate to that of the Smyrna. After the excitement
had somewhat subsided, the bulkhead was strongly timbered as
an additional security and the Moto slowly steamed for Southampton.
No eyes would be set on the Smyrna for another one hundred and
five years! 'Diving the Smyrna in the present day' |
In 1994 local divers began using mixed gas to
explore wrecks such as that of the Smyrna. Photograph Leigh
Bishop 1994 |
I hadn't been back to the Smyrna since the early 1990's although
I was again privileged to witness another astonishing dive
before I moved on to deeper ocean liners. A single descent
to the wreck by those original divers was indeed blessed with
the best visibility quite possibly ever witnessed in the English
Channel. At approx. 130ft the divers could practically see
the entire wreck a dive that is still talked of to this day!
It was during this particular dive that Dave Wendes realised
the wreck actually lies in a hollow - whether scoured out
by the tide or not his guess is as good as any although a
present hard chalk seabed could account for a natural feature.
The cargo is truly 'general', and consistent with an export
cargo bound for Australia.
|
| The manifest includes packs of corrugated iron, grindstones,
both single a two gallon flagons, marmalade jars, bottles of
cider, bottles of acid and poisons, teapots, milk glass, codd
bottles which include the rare half Codd size, elegant vinegar
bottles, ink bottles, chamber pots and a wide variety of crockery.
Each year the sand and shingle banks move uncovering many more
artifacts and the divers believe there's much more under the
sand than the wrecks is willing to tell. Wendes claims he still
has not finished researching the wreck and knows there is more |
| to discover he also still searches
for her bell a prize artifact that has never been located! In
late 1993 one diver claims to have discovered an item resembling
a Viking shield with three holes in the edges. Having run out
of lift bags it was too heavy to lift unaided then swimming
against the tide he'd hidden it with the intention of recovering
it at a later date. The only problem was he'd been heavily influenced
by narcosis in the air mixture and couldn’t remember where
he'd put it. Each time Wendes dived the wreck he searched in
vain for the so-called shield then in 2002 one of his compatriots
saw the edge of a round plate sticking out of the sand (a considerable
distance, as it turned out, from where it had originally been
found). He didn’t know what it was although it did however
resemble the talked of shield in every way, which had quite
possibly been hidden for a number of years by the shifting sands.
The long searched for artifact in fact turned out to be the
Smyrna's builder's -plate clearly spelling her name! |
An historic painting of Smyrna click on the
image to see more of the history of this clipper ship and
more |
| The wreck lies completely across the tide in a large shallow
depression upright with a slight list to port. Other than expected
damage to her bows and a few sections of her iron hull she is
still in remarkable condition. The stern section of the wreck
is completely upright and her classic champagne shape is obvious,
while some debris lies to the port stern, it is here the diver
will also find her teak rudder still very much intact. The visitor
will also find amounts of various bottles here at the very stern.
On the portside swimming forward iron masts and spars will be
noted over the seabed whilst their stumps at deck level are
also obvious. Amidships the diver will note more crockery and
glassware as well as more of an obvious lean to port. |
Various bottles that forms tons of cargo still
aboard the Smyrna today. |
There are excellent examples of lignum vitae rigging
deadeye's in rows still attached to the gunwale; then again
swimming forward another mast stump and various capstans can
be seen. Smyrna's classic Clipper bow lies; as the remainder
of the wreck to port and it is here that the visiting diver
will discover more of her general cargo around the starboard
side including those fabulous Victorian soda siphons known as
seltzogenes unique to Smyrna's cargo. It is here that the divers
have recovered plates edged in gold leaf and amazingly 3 small
picture frames with brass work in the shape of blackberry leaves
and berries. Wendes himself is uncertain as to whether these
were general cargo or indeed were a crew mans personal belongings?
Breaks in the port hull |
On of the decorated picture frames discovered
by Dave Wendes on the wreck of the Smyrna |
have allowed various cargo's to spill out onto the seabed and
some may well be covered by the sand, which has built up over
on the starboard side aft of amidships. Reports indicate there
is even a small steam donkey boiler located amidships. An area
of earthenware flagons of different sizes with the maker inscription
clearly visible, Elliot Bros., Sydney and Brisbane manufactured
by Smith Co Canal potteries, Old Kent Rd London, now lie scattered
about the wreck lids still firmly in place 115 years since she
was lost! Smyrna was competed in Oct 1876 and launched as a
wool clipper for the Australian trading market. Her best voyage
was in 1886 when she left Sydney on the 18th January and reached
London on the 30th April, a voyage lasting 96 days! The wreck
is certainly one of the classic dives of the English Channel
and one of the only finest examples of a Clipper that we know
off. She lies in an area known as the 'Rips' (so called because
of over falls and eddies swirling over rough ground) that often
produces great visibility about 15 miles south east of Anvil
point and south of the needles.
|
| If you haven't figured the depth in fathoms by
now she's 57m/188ft. Other than David Wendes and myself Nick
Legrass, Danny purchase and Mark Ekins were also privileged
to have made the dive with us back in June 1993. Quite possibly
this coming season the sands may have shifted, if they have
who knows 'Smyrna' may well be ready to give up her pride piece
'the ships bell'! Only time will tell.
To dive the Smyrna, renowned wreck researcher, diver and
charter skipper himself Dave ' son of crust' Wendes on Wight
Spirit is your man. The master even throws in apprenticeships
undertaken free of charge. For more info check www.wightspirit.co.uk
and lastly thanks of course to the Master! Dave Wendes. (see
right)
Pictured right is Dave Wendes soon after an attempt to reach
Black gang beach off the Isle of Wight 1993. The beach dump
was so ferocious it simply threw him about not unlike a small
puppy in a washing machine. This man now skippers the Isle
of Wight dive charter vessel Wight Spirit although now chooses
to view the sights of Black gang from the comfort of his Binoculars
aboard the dive boat!
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