In a Firth with ‘changeable depths’, sandbanks and occasionally fast tides with a great tidal range, there will always be shipwrecks. The Hougoumont, wrecked off Allonby Bay, is the best-known (and there is a good account on Peter Ostle‘s blog), but the wooden keel on Ship’s Keel Scaur – which may, or may not, be of the William Leavitt, and the rotting hulk of the Fauna at Gibbhill Point on the Dee, are especially fascinating. Here are some extra photos.
The dishevelled hulk of the Hougoumont off Allonby (thanks to John Whitwell for the image)
The dishevelled hulk of the Hougoumont off Allonby (thanks to John Whitwell for the image)
Lifeboat rescues, including the Hougoumont; the board in the Maryport Maritime Museum
Lifeboat rescues, including the Hougoumont; the board in the Maryport Maritime Museum
The wrecked remains on Ship's Keel Scaur
The wrecked remains on Ship's Keel Scaur
Encrusted chain of the Ship's Keel wreck
Encrusted chain of the Ship's Keel wreck
Site of wreck of the William Leavitt off Allonby 1888 (thanks to John Whitwell)JW
Site of wreck of the William Leavitt off Allonby 1888 (thanks to John Whitwell)JW
The Fauna, at Gibhill Point on the Dee
The Fauna, at Gibhill Point on the Dee
The 'wet well' of the Fauna
The 'wet well' of the Fauna
The Fauna's chain
The Fauna's chain
Many of the ports, especially those on the rivers, were sites for ship-building in the 19th century. The gridiron at Maryport, on the R Ellen and adjacent to the excellent little Maritime Museum, was a place where boats were raised out of the water at low tide, to work on their hulls. But at Allonby there was a ship-breakers’ yard – ships were towed in and dismantled on the shore (the photos are scans from documents in the Maritime Museum, kindly made for me by John Whitwell, a volunteer there).
The gridiron on the R Ellen, Maryport
The gridiron on the R Ellen, Maryport
The tug Florence bringing a hulk to Allonby (scanned image with thanks to John Whitwell)
The tug Florence bringing a hulk to Allonby (scanned image with thanks to John Whitwell)
There are lifeboat (RNLI and independent Inshore Rescue) and coastguard stations both sides of the Solway. On one occasion I ‘drove’ the Workington RNLI’s previous all-weather lifeboat, the Sir John Fisher, for short time, heading down to Whitehaven.
RNLI Kippford
RNLI Kippford
RNLI Workington's Sir John Fisher being lowered into the water
RNLI Workington's Sir John Fisher being lowered into the water
Boarding the Sir John Fisher at Workington
Boarding the Sir John Fisher at Workington
On board the RNLI's Sir John Fisher
On board the RNLI's Sir John Fisher
Writing notes on board RNLI's Sir John Fisher (C) Mark Regan, to whom thanks
Writing notes on board RNLI's Sir John Fisher (C) Mark Regan, to whom thanks
The Dorothy May White, Workington RNLI
The Dorothy May White, Workington RNLI
Inshore Rescue Boat on the R Nith
Inshore Rescue Boat on the R Nith
Maryport Inshore Rescue
Maryport Inshore Rescue
Silloth RNLI
Silloth RNLI
Silloth RNLI
Silloth RNLI
Silloth RNLI
Silloth RNLI
The Solway’s fishing fleets, whether trawlers or dredgers, are now much reduced. Kirkcudbright is the home port of Scotland’s second-largest scallop-dredging fleet. Maryport is home to trawlers – and the annual Trawler Race for boats from Maryport and the Isle of Man.
Scallop dredgers at Kirkcudbright
Scallop dredgers at Kirkcudbright
Trawlers at Kirkcudbright
Trawlers at Kirkcudbright
Maryport Trawler Race 2019. The Isle of Man Smurfs
Maryport Trawler Race 2019. The Isle of Man Smurfs
Maryport Trawler Race 2019. A well-stocked boat
Maryport Trawler Race 2019. A well-stocked boat
Start of the Maryport Trawler Race 2019
Start of the Maryport Trawler Race 2019
Ballast, solid and water, and the hulls of ships can carry a variety of animals and algae between ports throughout the world – marine invasive non-native species (INNS) which often out-compete local species. Sargasso weed is one such, and was even found and drawn – or in the case of Anna Atkins, captured by cyanotyping – in the 19th century. You can find out more in this Chapter, Ships and Seaweeds, and also in the Art and Science of Seeing Seaweedshere.
