Maritime record MWX2096 - Gertrude

Vessel drove ashore in dense fog fortunately the weather being calm, there was no loss of life. At the inquiry into the wreck, it was determined that insufficient use had been made of the lead and line to determine her depth, and also no proper use had been made of her compass. The wreck site is today marked with a boiler clearly seen at low water, a mass of broken steel plate and an anchor, scattered in amongst which can be found the remains of her cargo of iron pyrites. (1)(4)

Year Built: 1879 Propulsion: Screw driven 2 cylinder compound engine Horsepower: 120 Builder: W Gray and Co. Where Built: West Hartlepool Owner: O Trechmann Bros. Master: F W Weeks Crew: 18 Passengers: 2 Additional Construction Details: Q.deck 86ft; b.deck 63ft; well deck; 1 x deck; machinery by T Richardson andamp; Sons, Hartlepool Date of Loss Qualifier: A

A deadeye was recovered from this wreck at Tar Rocks.(Droit A/298).
Additional sources cited in United Kingdom Shipwreck Index: Weymouth Library photo.No.L910.4.GE2

The steamship Gertrude was another casualty of fog. Poor visibility and bad navigation led to her running ashore at Blacknor point on Portland on the 26th August 1894. In the calm weather it was simple for the coastguard to rescue the crew of eighteen and two passengers. However it proved impossible to salvage the vessel and she slipped down a boulder slope into deeper water. The wreck still lies there, her bow still pointing towards the shore. The surrounding seabed is littered with pieces of iron pyrites, the remains of her cargo.(5)

Gross tonnage
Positon 50 32.79 N 2027.10 W taken from (8)

Wreck site and archaeological remains:

Wreck in 50 32.79N; 02 2.10W. The ship is still partially on the slope of boulders down which she slipped and is still pointing upwards, towards the shore. For the diver searching among rocks and kelp, her boiler, which has fallen out to the starboard side and now lies 4m away from the ship's side, is probably the easiest item to recognise. Her bows are on the kelp line at a depth of 6m. To be found around her stern, at 14m, are masses of steel plate and a rudder with a blade of her propeller sticking out of the seabed. The ship's anchor lies a short distance away, off the port side. The wreck lies near the boulder strewn shore. (8)

Additional sources cited in United Kingdom Shipwreck Index:
Weymouth Library photo.No.L910.4.GE2
DCC.30.08.1894

<1> Larn, Richard, 1992, United Kingdom shipwreck index, Extracted 23 November 1992 (Index). SWX5030.

<1> Larn, R, and Larn, B, 1995, Shipwreck index of the British Isles, volume 1 : Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset Section 6, Dorset (AJ) Vol 1 (Monograph). SWX4541.

<2> Farr, Grahame, 1971, Wreck and rescue on the Dorset coast, p45 (Monograph). SWX1056.

<3> Board of Trade, 1896, Parliamentary papers 1896, Board of Trade Casualty Returns Vol 75, p119 (Monograph). SWX4743.

<4> Le Pard, G, 1995-2003, Dorset Coast Forum Maritime Archaeological Database, Shipwreck 17 (Digital archive). SWX8707.

<5> Le Pard, G F, 2005, Shipwrecks of the Dorset Coast (Monograph). SDO9637.

<6> Receiver of Wreck, Droit of the Receiver of Wreck 236/00 (Unpublished document). SWX77.

<7> Receiver of Wreck, Droit of the Receiver of Wreck A/0298 (Unpublished document). SWX244.

<8> Hinchcliffe, J and V, 1999, Dive Dorset: a diver guide (3rd Edition) (Monograph). SWX1.

<9> National Record of the Historic Environment, 901217 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Feb 21 2024 4:20PM