|
SS Drummond Castle
 Ushant, France
|
Max Depth: Over 150ft/46m
Entry Type: Boat
Bottom Composition: Sand
Aquatic Life: Might See Something
|
|
|
|
|
SS Drummond Castle is a boat accessible salt water dive site, located in Ushant, France. The maximum depth is over 150ft/46m.
N4825’167 W0503’403
The following account from The Dictionary of Disasters At Sea:
The Drummond Castle left Cape Town for London on May 28th, 1896, with 143 passengers and 103 crew under command of Capt. W. W. Pierce. On the night of June 16th she was off Ushant and within one day’s steaming of home. The sea was calm but visibility was poor.
The strong currents converging on the island of Molene, off Ushant, make the locality one of the most dangerous in the world for navigators, and the extent to which the Drummond Castle was pulled eastwards by the tide was apparently not realised. Between 10 and 11 o’clock that evening the liner was sighted by the steamship Werfa, the first officer of which noted that she was off her course and heading for a dangerous coast. The vessels were about a quarter of a mile apart at the time and soon afterwards the Drummond Castle was lost to view. Shortly before 11 p.m., still steaming at 12 knots, she struck a reef of rocks known as the Pierres Vertes, at the south entrance to the Fronveur Sound. The captain believed the vessel to be driven firmly on the rocks, and although the boats were made ready they were not lowered. The Chief Engineer released steam from the boilers to prevent an explosion, but all efforts to keep the ship afloat were useless and she foundered within four minutes of striking.
The drowned numbered 243, of whom Capt. Pierce, his officers and crew accounted for 101, and the passengers for 142. The three saved were Mr. Charles Marquandt, a first class passenger, Quartermaster Wood and Seaman Godbolt, all rescued by Breton fishermen.
Previous update by Bruce Biddulph
Photo supplied by John Ward~McQuaid
YouTube;
youtube.com/watch?v=xNp3vg0POrk