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

Event and Historical Information:
The JAMES GRAY was an iron-hulled steamship built by T Turnbull & Sons of Whitby, in 1878. Technical and configuration specifications are given as 1626gt, 1059nt; 246ft length x 33ft 6in breadth x 23ft 7in depth; 2 decks, 4 bulkheads, passenger deck 32ft, forecastle 35ft; screw propulsion powered by twin boilers linked to an inverted compound engine producing 140hp. At time of loss, the vessel was owned by J Gray & Co of Whitby and was under the command of master E McLeod. The JAMES GRAY had set out from Swansea with a cargo of coal for the Cape Verde Islands when, on the 27 January 1883, it was caught in a fierce gale during which its steering gear or its machinery broke down. The ship was forced to lie to with two anchors laid out, two miles east of Porthcawl near the Fairy Bank. The Porthcawl lifeboat set out to answer its distress call, but the seas were too rough for it to get alongside. At 8pm, the JAMES GRAY fired two distress rockets and soon after went onto the south side of the Tusker Rock. The steamer was visible aground on the Tusker Rock for some days afterwards. The bodies of the crew also began to come ashore, including the remains of the captain, his wife and child.

Sources include:
Bennett, T, 1987, Shipwrecks around Wales, Vol 1, p55-6
Board of Trade Wreck Return 1883 Appendix Parts I-IV pg118(760)
Gater, D, 1992, Historic Shipwrecks of Wales, pg30-1
Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002

Maritime Officer, RCAHMW, November 2008.