The wreck is reported to lie on the east side of the Smalls reef, near the lighthouse.
Event and Historical Information:
The ROWENA was an iron hulled steamship built by Dobie & Co, Glasgow, in 1883. Technical and configuration specifications are given as 1353gt. 848nt; 260ft 8in long x 37ft 1in breadth x 14ft 7in depth; 1 deck, weatherdeck, 4 bulkheads, quarterdeck 88ft, boatdeck 56ft, forecastle 35ft; screw propulsion powered by two steam boilers linked to a compound engine producing 200hp made by W Kemp, Glasgow; official number 87673. At time of loss the vessel was owened by Maclay & McIntyre of Glasgow and was transporting a cargo of iron ore from Bilbao to Glasgow under the command of master J Kerr. The vessel stranded on the Smalls on 13 May 1893.
Sources include:
Board of Trade Wreck Return 1893, Appendix C Table, p.135 (673)
Goddard, T, 1983, Pembrokeshire Shipwrecks, p.81
Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002
Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 April - 30 June 1893, p.7 (h)
Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping, 1 July 1890 - 30 June 1891, number 441 in R
South Wales Daily News, 15 May 1893, p.5
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, March 2008.
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