Archaeological remains associated with the loss of this vessel are not confirmed as present at this location, however they may be in the vicinity.

Event and Historical Information:
The GEM was a 37ft, 12-oared pulling and sailing lifeboat which had cost £390 in 1885 when it was paid for a legacy of John Metcalf of York. The GEM put to sea on 12.10 to assist the Barnstaple registered ketch DEMOCRAT, which was sheltering in Ramsey Sound in wind conditions NNE force 8 with two anchors out. Afraid that the wind would increase, captain Thomas Welch made signals of distress, which saw the GEM launched at night into very heavy seas. After two aborted efforts to get alongside, the lifeboat crew managed to get close to the wreck on the third run, now very close to a reef known as the Bitches. The three man crew of the DEMOCRAT were taken off, and the lifeboat turned for home, but in so doing struck a rock and threw everyone on board into the sea. The survivors from the ketch and twelve lifeboat men managed to reach the rocks and get above the sea, but coxswain John Stephens, Henry Rowlands and James Price were all drowned. The lifeboat also drifted away and was smashed to pieces. Those on shore knew nothing of the accident until 9 am next day when the survivors set fire to their waterproof oilskins to attract attention. A young fisherman, Sydney Mortimer and two coastguard volunteers, Sam Guppy and Sam Huskin, set off from Porth clais Harbour in a 20ft launch called the WAVE QUEEN, who made two trips to rescue 10 sailors. Another shore boat manned by Eleazer James rescued the remaining four, but was in immediate danger of being swamped and was towed to safety by Fishguard's CHARTERHOUSE lifeboat. The Ketch DEMOCRAT survived the storm to be involved in a second rescue in Fishguard Bay in January 1911. The GEM lifeboat was replaced by a temporary lifeboat and then a motor lifeboat, GENERAL FARRELL in 1911.

Sources include:
Board of Trade Wreck Return 1910 Appendix C Table pg93 (223)
Goddard, T, 1983, Pembrokeshire Shipwrecks, pg27-34
Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002

Maritime Officer, RCAHMW, February 2008.