The rock on which the vessel stranded has now taken the name of the ship (St Vincent Rock). Large amounts of iron hull plates, ribs, knees, box-sections, copper pipes, brass fittings, sheets of lead, wooden planks and lumps of coal still lie on the seabed. Recognisable elements include a four-bladed propeller. The site has been salvaged and is exposed to fierce currents. A marine geophysical survey undertaken by Emu Environmental Ltd during August 2008 noted a large magnetometer anomaly (62.9nT) 40m to the southwest of the wreck's charted location.
Event and Historical Information:
The GULF ST VINCENT was built by W Gray & Co, West Hartlepool, in 1881. Technical specifications for the vessel are given as 289 ft long x 38 ft breadth x 17 depth; 1 x deck; 6 x bulkhead; boat deck 70ft; and iron construction. The steamship was fitted with a single boiler linked to a compound engine producing 300 hp. The machinery was made by Blair & Co. Ltd., Stockton. The steamship was classed 100 A1 by Lloyd's. At time of loss, the GULF OF ST VINCENT was owned by the Greenock Steamship Company, and registered on the Clyde at Greenock. The ship was under the command of T Cross and on passage from Valparaiso to Liverpool when it stranded on a rock a quarter of a mile W by N, a quarter north of the West Mouse on 17 July 1890. The Skerries light flew a signal requesting the attendance of a lifeboat, and the log of the Holyhead lifeboat describes how when it arrived on the scene after taking a tow from the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board Steamer ALERT, it found that the Cemlyn and Cemaes lifeboats also in attendance. The GULF ST VINCENT forepart was submerged as far at the bridge. The majority of the crew had already taken to their own lifeboat, but the captain, pilot and carpenter remained onboard until it was believed that the fast running tide was in danger of causing the vessel to fall over and sink in deeper water. Over the next few days, a salvage team arrived from Liverpool and the removal of the cargo began. The second mate and some of the crew of the Liverpool tug CHALLENGER, in company with some of the ship's officers boarded the wreck, with the intention of removing provisions and everything they could get hold of. Tragically the vessel parted, and the second mate of the tug got his head jammed between two planks and was instantly killed. The second officer of the steamer, John Murray, also got his arm caught in debris. It was feared at first this his arm would have to be cut off; but he was extracted with serious lacerations and taken to Stanley Hospital. The tide was then flowing in and out of the vessel and barrels of flour, 2 casks of paint, and one heavy quse (?) were landed at Cemaes on 21 July which were dealt with by the Receiver of Wreck, H M Customs Officer at Amlwch. The vessel was believed to have a great deal of spirits on board in the aft hold and hence the coastguard began an intensive patrol over the coast to protect any further items of cargo and stores coming onshore. Local fishing boats offered help with the salvage operation and Mersey flatmen were also employed to visit the wreck daily. Two lumpers (salvage vessels), the steamships HYAENA and MALLARD, continued working on unloading the cargo into late August. The crew of the GULF ST VINCENT were brought to the Sailor's Home, Holyhead, and forwarded to their homes by Captain O H Parry, agent of the Shipwrecked Mariners Society. A marine geophysical survey undertaken by Emu Environmental Ltd during August 2008 noted a large magnetometer anomaly (62.9nT) 40m to the southwest of the wreck's charted location.
Sources include:
Baner ac Amserau Cymru, 23 July 1890, p.13
Board of Trade Wreck Return 1890 Appendix C Table 1 p.117 (643)
Carnarvon and Denbigh Herald, 25 July 1890, p.6
Carnarvon and Denbigh Herald, 8 August 1890, p.6
Depositions of the Receiver of Wreck, H M Customs, Amlwch, Anglesey Archive Service WM2025/6
Larn and Larn database 2002
Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 July - 30 September 1890, p.6 (h)
Lloyds Register of British and Foreign Shipping, 1 July 1888 - 30 June 1889, number 659 in G
Log of the Holyhead lifeboat, Gwynedd Archive Service (Caernarfon) XM/1563/2
PMSS, 2011, The Skerries Tidal Stream Array Environmental Statement Vol 2, p.190
UK Hydrographic Office Wrecks and Obstructions Database. ? Crown Copyright and database rights. Reproduced by permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office and the UK Hydrographic Office (www.ukho.gov.uk).
Maritime Officer, RCAHMW, May 2011.
This record was enhanced in 2020 with funding from Lloyd's Register Foundation as part of the project 'Making the Link: Lloyd's Register and the National Monuments Record of Wales'. Visit Lloyd’s Register Foundation Heritage and Education Centre for more resources.