Maritime record MWX2166 - Water Lily

Remains of the 1915 wreck of a British Admiralty drifter located approximately 9.8 nautical miles south-east of Durlston Head. She was a wooden-hulled steamer, which foundered following a collision with the steam trawler OUSE, while on anti-submarine duties.408841 069018

Wreck site and archaeological remains:
Horizontal Datum: OGB
Vertical Datum: 116
Buoyage: CINC

18-AUG-1981: E/S & DCS3 contact in 50 31.13N 001 52.31W. Trisponder ranges in mtrs - 10752 from Peveril, 23250 from Southbourne. insufficient time to fully examine.

21-APR-1986: Found to be remains of wooden vessel. Boiler remains in situ, standing 10ft high. Commercial in confidence requested. NCA yet. (1)

During the 1980's a fisherman snagged some gear on an obstruction which was found to be a wreck. Divers recovered a builder's nameplate which identified the wreck as the remains of the WATERLILY. Not much stands up apart from her boiler though her wooden ribs are evident. The wreck stands 3m high on a rough seabed, in 50 31.25N, 001 52.60W (WGS84). (2)

30-JAN-2007: Identified by builder's nameplate.

28-JAN-2012: Examined in 5031.225N, 0152.699W [WGD]. The least multibeam depth was 34.48m in a general depth of 37m. The least W/C depth 33.51m. Scour 0.3m at wreck. Length 3m. Width 2.5m. Height 1.4m. A poor magnetic anomaly. A small steep-sided mound which has minor scour to north and south. (3)(4)

Charted by the UKHO as 'HMS WATERLILY' in 50 31.225N, 001 52.688W (WGS84). (3)(4)

Wreck event and documentary evidence:

WATERLILY was hired by the Admiralty to become part of the Auxiliary Patrol Force and to act as a net vessel, the intention being to form anti-submarine barriers using special wire nets. She was based at Poole. On 23 July 1915 WATERLILY foundered off St Alban's Head following a collision with another hired vessel attached to the Auxiliary Patrol, the steam trawler OUSE. (2)

An Admiralty hired drift netter, No.2171. (5)

Built: 1907 (2)
Builder: Henry Reynolds (2)
Where built: Lowestoft (2)
Propulsion: compound 2 cylinders (2) screw-driven 3 cylinder triple expansion engine (5)
Boilers: 1 (2)(5)
NHP: 75 (2)
Machinery: William Burrell, Great Yarmouth (2)
Ownership: John May, Buckpool. Hired as an Admiralty rifter in May 1915 (2)

Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss

Additional sources cited in United Kingdom Shipwreck Index:
ADM APV 1919

The building date for this vessel is an estimate based on an average age at wrecking of twenty years. This average is derived from those vessels wrecked on the Dorset coast whose age at wrecking is known.

<1> United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, 1992, Hydrographic Office wreck index (Index). SWX4837.

<2> Wendes, D, 2006, South Coast Shipwrecks off East Dorset & Wight 1870 - 1979, 67 (Monograph). SDO10496.

<3> SeaZone Hydrospatial, Digital marine geographic information derived from SeaZone Hydrospatial, 24-Feb-17 (Digital archive). SDO20540.

<4> United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, Wreck report, 19430 (Monograph). SDO20514.

<5> 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.

<6> Le Pard, G, 1995-2003, Dorset Coast Forum Maritime Archaeological Database, Shipwreck 920 (Digital archive). SWX8707.

<7> National Record of the Historic Environment, 832485 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Sep 10 2024 3:26PM