CRICCIETH CASTLE sailing vessel 1887

[aukepalmhof]

Built as an iron full-rigged ship under yard No 86 by R.Williamson and Son, Workington. U.K. for his own account.10 March 1987 launched as the SILVERDALE.
Tonnage 1.920 gross, dim. 263.9 x 39 x 23.7ft. (draught).
Ship rigged.
1887 Completed.

October 1889 sold to Robert Thomas & Co. of Criccieth and Liverpool (Criccieth is a small place in Wales), a single ship company was set up the Criccieth Castle Ship Company, and they bought the SILVERDALE.
Renamed in CRICCIETH CASTLE, named after the Criccieth Castle in Wales.

Of her early years not much is known, but she was trading world wide.
1905 Command was taken over by Capt. Robert Thomas, who did sail already before on her as an apprentice in 1893.

23 June 1906 on his second voyage she was hit by a cyclone off Norfolk Island where in she lost all her sails and boats, throwing her on her beam ends.

16 August 1906 arrived at Valparaiso, Chile from Newcastle N.S.W. after a passage of 47 days.
16 August 1906 at anchor on the roads of Valparaiso together with around 25 ships was the town hit by an earthquake, in which thousands were killed, the ships on the roads did not notice anything of the quake, the seas stayed calm, not any of the ships was damaged.

After her return to Europe she loaded coal at Barry, Bristol Channel for Tocopilla, Chile.
Captain Thomas was just married and his wife was also on board.
In the vicinity of Cape Horn the cargo of coal when spontaneous combustion took place, and her fore peak flooded. Captain Thomas decided to turn around to port for repair. The best port for repair was Montevideo and he altered course to this port.
The full crew has to man the pumps to keep the CRICCIETH CASTLE afloat, while steam and smoke from the smouldering cargo of coal made pumping very difficult.

Strong winds made matters worse, and during a squall they lost her lower main topsail. At least she reached Montevideo, heavy pumps of a tug were used to get the fore peak dry where after it was found that a drum with oil has got free of her lashings and during the rolling of the ship had punctured the hull.
The second mate who broke both legs in a storm was discharged to a hospital at shore, but he died after two days on gangrene.

After repair and the heated coal restowed she set sail again, during the rounding of Cape Horn she got heavy weather damage.
On her return voyage from Chile in the vicinity of Rio de La Plate she did run again in a strong gale, lost her main topmast and spars of all her three masts.
After she arrived at Falmouth she got orders to proceed to Antwerp to discharge her cargo of nitrate, under tow she left Falmouth.

The next two voyages are without any mishap.

The next voyage she sailed from Ballesta Islands, Peru with on board 2.700 ton guano bound for Antwerp.
14 July during a heavy gale was she struck by a heavy sea under her counter and her rudder stock broke, the rudder now loose banged back and forth making so much damage on the hull plating that water poured in, the pumps were manned but could not cope with the inrushing water.
The CRICCIETH CASTLE was doomed and the 23 crew and Mrs Thomas with her son of four years abandoned the ship in two boats in a position about 180 miles from the Falkland Islands.
The boat under command of the first mate W.Gale and six crew members got out of sight already the first night, and were lost.
The larger boat under command of Captain Thomas with on board 17 men crew and Mrs. Thomas and her son set off in the direction of the Falklands.
A barque was sighted the next day but they were not seen, and she past.

It must be a nightmare for the men and woman on board the boat, the cold was intense and one by one the crewmembers succumbed, after 6 days they reached East Falkland but that part was uninhabited, and they set out again to round the island and heading for Port Stanley .
After 8 days they reached Cape Pembroke near Port Stanley and were rescued by men from the light tower, 6 men had already died during the voyage, the others did all have frostbite.

When they arrived in Port Stanley 2 men more died in hospital and several had fingers and toes were amputated due to frostbite.

The lifeboat in which this terrible voyage was made has been for many years a memorial in Port Stanley.

The survivors after they recovered returned to Liverpool by the steamer OROPESA.
After she recovered, two months later Mrs Thomas gave birth to a healthy baby girl.

Falkland Islands 1989 £1 sg625, scott?

Source: many web-sites. Nitrate Clippers by Basil Lubbock. The Dog Watch.