Fate of the sailing barque Etta

by Jan 24, 2024Lifeboats, Shipwrecks14 comments

On a wild windy winter night in December 1888, the Belfast Barque Etta, rounded Hook Head in search of shelter, the lifeboat was signaled, but the ship was driven onto the rocks of Creaden Bay before the lifeboat could reach the vessel. Miraculously all but one were rescued from the vessel, thanks, in no small part, to the knowledge and seamanship of the ship’s captain James Arthurs. This is the tale of the Etta, which grounded in a gale on Friday 21st December 1888 sometime between 11 and 12 midnight.

According to Lloyd’s Register of Shipping 1890[i] the Etta was built in Quebec in 1863.  She was registered under the company name of the Etta Ship Company, JS Wright, Belfast and was part owned by her master, Captain James Arthurs.  She arrived in St John NB via Montevideo on November 5th 1888[ii]and after loading timber, sailed for the port of Fleetwood on Nov 29th.[iii]  The ship encountered a succession of gales crossing the Atlantic and as they approached the Irish coast, a decision was made to run for shelter.

David Philip Jones, First mate of the barque Etta, later gave the following first person account of their situation. 

As it transpired, fate played a hand.  It was close to low water and rather than crash into a vertical cliff if the tide was in, the Etta grounded on the somewhat level, if jagged, rocks on the old red sandstone shore. 

Creaden Head and the bay, I can’t with any certainty say where it grounded but I would think somewhere from the ripened field of corn inwards is most likely. Author

The Dunmore East lifeboat had spotted the distress signals and the crew of the Henry Dodd, rowed with all their might to the rescue.  Although they could not get near the wreck in the conditions, they managed to rescue five of the sailors who had set off from the Etta in the ship’s boat, apparently before she struck.  The timing of their leaving or what their crew mates thought is not described. 

Meanwhile, locals ran along the cliffs, fields and roadways to lend what assistance they could.  RIC Sargent Thomas Sutcliff was guided down to the wreck scene by a local labourer named James Redmond.  They managed to get a line aboard the stranded vessel which was grinding and thumping into the jagged shoreline.  Although news reports differ it seems that there were likely 12 remaining crew, Captain James Arthurs and his wife.   

Sutcliff seems to have played a leading role in the proceedings, there is no mention of the Coastguard in the reports, even though they most certainly brought the rocket apparatus and equipment, that would eventually bring the crew and Mrs Arthurs ashore.  Redmond again proved his worth, when he plunged into the surf to assist the captain’s wife who seems to have become overcome in the chair.[v]

Some accounts state that despite the pleas of those ashore, Captain Arthurs refused to leave his vessel, perhaps determining that his ship would survive the merciless pounding on the shore.  Captain Arthurs from Islandmagee, on the east coast of County Antrim, was 2/3rds owner of the vessel and perhaps he gambled that if he stayed with the vessel he would not lose his profits on the trip to any salvage claim.  The news report claimed that the cargo was not insured.  It also stated that he was familiar with Waterford, so perhaps there was an element of calculated risk in where the ship came ashore? Alas, in full view of his rescuers, his crew and his wife, a breaking sea washed him off his feet and over the side never to be seen again.[vi]   

An illustration of the Breeches Buoy in operation sourced from The County Record. [volume 1], October 21, 1897, University of South Carolina

The local police as well as many from the surrounding locality “…rendered valuable assistance in attending to the shipwrecked crew and Mrs Arthurs. They were all subsequently taken charge of by Mr Edward Jacob, local secretary of the Shipwrecked Mariners Society, and forwarded to their homes at the expense of that benevolent institution…”[vii]

The ship, however, survived.  The wind seems to have moderated on the flood tide, and the next morning the Etta was seen hard aground but upright.  Later the local tug Dauntless put a crew aboard which stripped down the masts and rigging and tried to hold the vessel together.[viii]

An effort to sell the wreck fell through, as most bidders felt the ship and cargo were doomed.  Several attempts were made to refloat the vessel, in a desperate scramble to salvage the ship and the cargo before the weather turned again.  Eventually, on Monday 31st December 1888, it was reported locally that the tug Dauntless and the PS Rosa managed to haul the wreck off the shoreline.  I’m presuming that the weather had stayed calm, and with spring tides and some patchwork and bailing, the vessel floated clear. [ix]

The Etta was brought to the relative safety above Creaden Head where she was anchored.  Soon afterwards, the vessel, lying on her beam end, was towed up to Cheekpoint by the Liverpool based tug Pathfinder. [x] It would appear she was grounded at the village, perhaps along the Strand Road.  Some of the cargo was removed and presumably, an assessment of the hull took place.

SS Pembroke February 1899 grounded at Cheekpoint following a similar incident where the vessel was inspected and made ready for towing to Liverpool. AH Poole photo

In early February two tugs were in position at Cheekpoint, but had tried unsuccessfully to get the Etta off the shore.  The owners of the Etta, J S Wright & Co, Corporation St., Belfast had decided that the vessel could be towed back to her home port following some repairs to the hull.[xi]  The floating nature of the cargo may have also played a role – earlier plans to remove the timber cargo and sell it in Waterford had been changed. Perhaps the cargo was employed as an aid to buoyancy?  I am only speculating here of course. 

Eventually, the ship was towed clear and was taken by the steam tug Rescuer out the harbour to bring her home.[xii]  But that wasn’t the final drama because the tug ran into stormy weather in the Irish Sea and later it was reported that the waterlogged Etta was labouring badly in Belfast Lough and the tug was having a difficult time getting to her home port.[xiii]  The Etta was made of strong timbers however, and in March the cargo that had taken so long to reach its destination was finally advertised for sale, although the advert did caution that the timber was a little darker, as the vessel that carried them had been ashore. An understatement for sure, given all that had transpired[xiv].

An image that might give some sense on the towing of the Etta to Liverpool, Steam Tug Rescue, Capt. Robert Lumley Cook, Towing the dismasted Brig. Rapid of Shoreham, into the South Entrance Sunderland Oct. 29th 1880 by artist John Hudson, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The only victim of the Etta was her master, Captain James Arthurs.  There were hopes that when the vessel came clear of the rocks at Creaden his corpse might float clear too.  Indeed it was widely reported that his body was retrieved from near the wrecksite that same day.  A follow-up report however confirmed that no body had been retrieved and an appeal was made for people to keep an eye out.  Perhaps as an inducement, it was reported that the “hardy old sailor” had £200 in gold on his person when he was lost over the side.[xv]  I could find no record of his body ever being retrieved, however.

Not the Etta, but the barque Gunvor wrecked on the Cornish coast in 1912 in a very similar circumstance, image sourced from google – Photo: E. A. Bragg, photographer of Illogan.

The only mention I could find of Captain Arthurs in the local papers of Antrim gave the following, scant detail.  “…The members of Islandmagee Masonic Lodge, No. 162, heard with sincere regret of the sad loss at sea of their worthy brother, Captain James Arthurs, who for many years was a faithful and honoured member of their lodge, and at their first meeting since his death desire to express their sympathy with his bereaved widow and sorrowing friends, and pray that the Great Architect of the Universe may comfort and sustain them under their sad bereavement.”[i] 

As is so often the case, the fate of the Etta and her crew gets lost in the mist of time. One aspect of the story however is the role that Captain Arthurs played. He decided to run for shelter, he, it seems, knew Waterford harbour well. Did he also know the lay of the land at Creaden Bay and that he was sailing to the ship’s doom, but that there was a fighting chance of survival? Had he weighed up the odds, and thought there’s a fighting chance given the wind, tide, and the geography of the shoreline in the specific part of the Bay he grounded. It seems to me that he did, but perhaps that is the romantic in me looking for a nice hook to the story. If any reader could add anything to the man’s career which might corroborate or dismiss such a conclusion I would be delighted to have it.

Below is a new initiative to try pinpoint each wreck using google maps which I will update as new blogs are completed and which I hope will cover the entire coast of Waterford in years to come


For a different account and in particular, the award for bravery given to Sargent Sutcliff see David Carroll’s book on the Dunmore East RNLI – Dauntless Courage.


[i] https://archive.org/details/HECROS1890/page/n87/mode/1up   Accessed 22/12/2023

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14 Comments

  1. Ann Nolan

    What a story, fantastic detail by David Philip Jones. Such brave people who helped the crew and wife, as for the Captain, will we ever know. Thank you Andrew for your work .
    Ann

    Reply
    • andrew

      Thanks very much Ann

      Reply
  2. Carroll O'Donoghue

    Thanks Andrew for another great article and for keeping these memories alive and highlighting our maritime history and heritage. Keep up the great work.

    Reply
    • andrew

      Much appreciated Carroll

      Reply
  3. Kathleen

    Thanks Andrew! As always an interesting read.

    Reply
    • andrew

      As are yours Kathleen

      Reply
  4. Maria Doyle

    Great research Andrew.
    Thank you. Takes the past into the present.

    Reply
    • andrew

      Thanks Maria

      Reply
  5. Philip Joyce

    Thank you, Andrew, for that account of the Etta.

    Reply
    • andrew

      Your welcome Philip

      Reply
  6. Kevin Waters Ramsgrange

    Brilliant as usual Andrew I look forward to last Thursday of month for your blog every month

    Reply
    • andrew

      Thanks very much Kevin

      Reply
  7. Andrew Phillips

    Fantastic piece and very bizarre that it has only been posted recently. I have been researching my family and came across this site when looking for details on my 3xGGFs nephew David Philip Jones. I know very little about him, but his Grandfather was a David Phillips – listed in the records I have found as a mariner, and his uncle a William Phillips also Mariner.
    I can find very little information post 1835 on David Phillips so presume he lost his life somewhere around that time. David Philip Jones was born in Caernafon and I believe died in 1899. Thanks again for bringing some life to my ancestors story.

    Reply
    • andrew

      I found the interview on line and I will email the full piece to you Andrew. It takes me a long time to gather the information here, and I am always heartened when anything I write or guest publish makes a connection with others, so thanks for commenting and best of luck in finding other sources. A

      Reply

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