The bow section of this iron barque is reported to still be visible and is marked with a perch to help ensure safe navigation.

Event and Historical Information:
The CRAIGWHINNE was built in 1878 by R & J Evans & Co, Liverpool. Technical and configuration specifications are given as 3-masted iron barque; 859gt, 834nt; 192ft 4in length x 33ft 1in breadth x 20ft 2in depth; 1 deck, 1 bulkhead, quarterdeck 41ft, forecastle 22ft; official number 78812. At time of loss the vessel was owned by D Yule, Edinburgh, but registered at Calcutta. The barque was on passage from Calcutta to Hull with a 1135ton cargo of linseed cake and scrap iron under the command of R C Tait. On the 7 December 1899, the CRAIGWHINNIE was caught in a gale which smashed two of the ship's boats and washed the ship's compass binnacle overboard. The ship was able to take an accurate sun observation on the 15 December 1899, but sailed into dense fog. Believing that the ship was somewhere off the Channel Islands, the ship drove onto Cefn Sidan, Carmarthen Bay, at 6am on 20 December 1899. The ship's distress signals were seen and the Ferryside lifeboat, CITY OF MANCHESTER, was called out and took off 17 crewmembers including the captain who went ashore to make contact with the owners. The chief and second officer remained onboard, hoping that the ship would float off on the next tide. The ship failed to float and was lightened by transferring some of the sacks of linseed to local boats to be landed. Tugs were also used to tow the barque off but failed. Dumping the cargo of linseed straight overboard also failed to lighten the ship sufficiently. On 6 January 1900, the hull broke open and the ship became a total loss. The subsequent enquiry into the incident suspended the master's certificate for three months for careless navigation and censured the mate for careless keeping of the ship's logbook. The wreck was located in 1935. In August 1991 the Carmarthen Bay Navigation Committee marked the wreck with a perch, and laid a standard hand buoy, flashing green every five seconds, 230yards north-northwest. In 1996 the buoy was replaced with an unlit cardinal buoy, 3 cables to the north. This buoy had been removed by 1999.

Sources include:

Bennett, T, 1987, Shipwrecks around Wales, Vol 1, pp.27-8
Board of Trade Inquiry, number 5991, 12-15 January 1900, at Guildhall, Swansea
Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002
Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 October - 31 December 1899, p.13 (h)
South Wales Daily News, 22 December 1899, p.8
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, September 2008.

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.