All At Sea

At the centre of the British Isles, the Isle of Man has a rich maritime heritage.  But the surrounding Irish Sea can be ferocious, with abundant shipwrecks and lost lives. Read on...

In only 12 nautical miles of Manx waters, there have been thousands of lost ships, and lost lives. In just one incident near Douglas on 20 September 1787, 36 men and 50 boats were lost in the herring fleet disaster. 

Over the centuries, more than 3,000 people have lost their lives around the Isle of Man.  Around 2,000 shipwrecks are recorded in Manx waters.  And it isn’t only a Manx story.  Ships from over 30 different countries never completed their journeys across the Irish Sea.

Manx resident Sir William Hillary made it his mission to save all at sea. From his house overlooking Douglas Bay, he had witnessed many ships in trouble and had helped personally in the rescue of 500 people. What was needed was a new lifesaving organisation.

On 14th December 1822, HMS Racehorse foundered off the southeast coast of the Isle of Man.  Almost all her 100 crew were saved by men from nearby Castletown, but at great cost.  Three of the rescuers drowned, leaving their families destitute. This galvanised Hillary into action.

Hillary set out the principles in a pamphlet, published in February 1823.  His mission was to ensure the preservation of life, to assist vessels in distress, to preserve vessels and property, to prevent plunder, to support those rescued and to provide suitable rewards for rescuers.

It was, he said “a cause which extends from the palace to the cottage, in which politics and party cannot have any share”. No-one, rich or poor, local or foreign, friend or foe, was to be refused help. And on 4 March 1824, The RNLI was founded.

The French ship ran into trouble in the Calf Sound in 1858.  Clinging to a rock, four remaining crewmen shouted for help.  One rescue boat made it through the treacherous tides and the men were saved.  The rescuers were awarded the French silver medal of honour for bravery.

In 1889 all 23 people from the Saint George were saved. Captain Carl Thoresen said, “They are first class men, those lifeboat men...There was not a soul of us aboard our vessel this time yesterday that expected to be saved. We never thought we should see today."

...the Thorne was driven onto rocks below Onchan Head.  All on-board were safe, but the precious cargo was not.  Locals ran to take advantage of the barrels and bottles of spirits washed ashore, even taking off their boots and scooping up the liquor from the ground!

During the 1800s as a response to loss of lives (and valuable cargo) by shipwreck, an extensive programme of construction projects was completed. Harbours were improved, piers and breakwaters added and permanent lighthouses were built.

To find out more about the maritime history of the Isle of Man, search https://isleofmanher.im
You can also explore our digital maritime collections at https://www.imuseum.im/RNLI and https://imuseum.im/allatsea