The 381-ton barque of Ragusa was deliberately run aground, 300 meters (328 yards) east of Porthleven harbour, Cornwall, England, during a severe gale in an attempt to save the lives of the crew. Six hundred tons of logs were salvaged; three of the crew lost their lives.[5]
The Padstow steamer struck The Smalls and sank during a south-south-west gale, while heading for Cardiff from Holyhead. Seven of the crew left in the ship's boat and were picked up by the steamer Briton. The captain and nine men were left on board.[11]
The Dublin steamship bound for Cork from Newport with coal hit the Barrel Rock at noon and foundered five house later. The captain and twelve crew were landed at Falmouth, Cornwall by the steamship James Hogg the following morning.[14]
The cargo of the Welsh barque shifted during a gale on 9 February causing her to list and she was taken in tow by the Upupa near the Smalls Lighthouse. Two days later the line broke and Captain Williams refused to leave his ship. The Upupa continued on her voyage and on the 12th the crew were taken off by three ships.[15]
The steamship, formerly the White Star Line ocean liner Belgic, had undergone repairs at Liverpool, England, due to an earlier incident, but while leaving the port, bound for Havana, Cuba, she ran onto Burbo Bank at the mouth of the River Mersey and was wrecked.
The Penzance schooner was stuck by the steamer Mulgrave and sank a few minutes later in the Bristol Channel. Mary Boyns was carrying coal from Neath to Penzance. The crew were taken aboard the steamer and landed at St Ives, Cornwall.[20]
The Gelfe brig was abandoned, waterlogged at latitude 39°31′ N and longitude 32°46′ W, while carrying logwood from Old Harbour, Jamaica to Goole, Yorkshire. The captain and six of the crew were rescued by the Astoria and landed at Falmouth, Cornwall.[21]
The Cunard iron-screw steamer left Liverpool with five passengers and a general cargo for Le Havre, striking a rock about 1 mile (1.6 km) south-east of the Longships Lighthouse. With 8 feet (2.4 m) of water in the hold the captain decided to run ashore at full-speed; Nanjizal (also known as Millbay) was the nearest convenient place. There was no loss of life.[22] The 774 ton vessel was sold by public auction on 5 April 1884 at Nanjizal followed by another auction at Sennen Cove of the rigging, sails, several lots of brass and copper, four ship's-boats, sixty hams, thirteen cases of lobsters, etc.[23]
The derelict vessel was found about 6 miles (9.7 km) south-east of the Longships Lighthouse with only a dog on board. The vessel from Painpol was laden with salt and was towed to Penzance by the lugger William and Annie.[26]
The steamer burned to the water's edge at Fitzgerald Landing, Georgia, 28 miles above Eufaula, Alabama, before her mooring lines parted allowing her to drift 100 yards down stream in the Chattahoochee River before sinking. Five passengers and seven crew killed.[28][29]
The brig left Liverpool carrying salt for Quebec and drove ashore in Dundrum Bay, Ireland. One of the ship's boats capsized and all the occupants drowned. The rest of the crew landed in a second ship's boat or were brought ashore by the Newcastle lifeboat.[30]
The steamship struck the Chynoweth rock near The Manacles off the Lizard peninsula, Cornwall, while in ballast for Newport. All the crew were saved.[31]
19 April
List of shipwrecks: 19 April 1884
Ship
State
Description
Ponema
The barque left Liverpool for Miramichi on 10 April and collided with the State of Florida around midnight, both sinking within 15 minutes. Only the captain and two men out of fifteen crew survived.[32]
State of Florida
The State line steamer left New York for the Clyde on 12 April and collided with the Ponema around midnight, both sinking within 15 minutes. Thirty-six crew and eleven passengers were saved.[32][33]
During a voyage in the waters of the Territory of Alaska from Belkofski to Kodiak with a cargo of provisions and a crew of two, the 13.92 ton schooner was wrecked on the coast of the Alaska Peninsula near Nikolaief, 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) north of Belkofski, during a gale. Both crewmen survived.[34]
The 513-ton vessel was carrying coal from Swansea to Italy when she sprang a leak 180 miles (290 km) west of the Isles of Scilly. While heading for land the vessel was driven ashore on rocks just above Port Gaverne, Cornwall. The three crew took to the boat and landed safely ashore.[40]
The captain and crew abandoned ship off St Alban's bay in fine weather and the vessel was towed to port as a derelict. The captain was found guilty at Liverpool sessions of ″... neglecting to take measures to avert the loss of his vessel.″ He was sentenced to 18 months in prison.[42]
The vessel caught fire and the nineteen crew were taken off by the Italian barque Pipalarno. Eight were later transferred to the Village Belle and landed at Derry, Ireland.[49]
The steamer collided with the Laxham and both vessels sank off Cape Finisterre. Fifteen passengers were landed at Dartmouth, Devon by the Zoe and nine of the crew were landed at Royal Victoria Dock, London by the Ville de Valence. A further seven passengers and eight crew were landed at Muros, near A Coruña by the Vespertina Wilson. About eighty lives were lost including the captain who shot himself.[54][55][56]
The Middlesbrough steamer sank in 2 or 3 minutes, when struck by the Camden off Gravesend, England. Ten of her crew and seven passengers are missing.[58]
The Newquay, Cornwall schooner stranded at Clifden, Ireland while carrying ore to the Clyde and is likely to be a total wreck. All the crew survived.[59]
The sidewheel paddle steamer sank shortly before midnight when she collided with the schoonerJ. S. Lowell (United States) approximately 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) from Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts. She was raised and repaired, and she returned to service in January 1886.[66]
The steamer capsized in a storm in the Ohio River 3 miles above Henderson, Kentucky . Her Captain died, as did 5 ladies and 8 children, a total of 20-25 lives lost.[67][68]
The screw steamer struck a rock in the Menai Strait, grounded, refloated, collided with Prince Arthur (flag unknown), then grounded again near the Menai Bridge on the Isle of Anglesey in north Wales, without loss of life. She was refloated, repaired, and returned to service.
The vessel struck rocks at San Isidro, Chile in the Strait of Magellan. Six of the passengers were taken off by the Uarda (Germany) the following day and the rest were taken off by the Neko on 23 September 1884.[72]
The Barque was demasted in a severe storm in mid-Atlantic Ocean, lost her boats, and sprang a leak. After 9 days the vessel was on the verge of sinking and the crew worn out from manning the pumps when they sited the BrigF. Y. Merryman (United States) drifting twords them. Her crew, accept for 2 men, had been wiped out by disease and were drifting helplessly. The crew of Scalla transferred to Merryman as their ship sank and was able to sail the ship to New York.[75]
The Penzance schooner grounded on the Dunbar, at the entrance to Padstow harbour, while carrying coal from Porthcawl to Penzance. The crew were taken off by the lifeboat Arab.[77]
The Sunderland screw-steamer, carrying 450 tons of iron ore and 200 tons of esparto to Cardiff stranded at Rosemodress, near Lamorna, Cornwall. All the crew managed to get ashore.[84]
The steamer left Iceland for her home port of Leith, Scotland and ran ashore on rocks 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Fraserburgh. The cargo of 3,200 sheep and 16 ponies were thrown overboard, and 2,500 sheep and all the ponies swam ashore. The crew and passengers were saved.[92]
The Liverpool steamer left Liverpool for Barcelona with a cargo of coal and pitch. Last seen off Port Lynas on 18 December it is thought the steamer foundered during bad weather off the English coast the following day.[95]
The Sunderland steamer was struck amidships by a Norwegian barque off the Eddystone and both vessels sank. The crew took to the boats and landed at Plymouth.[97]
The Newcastle steamer sank in Havre roads, after being run down by the steamship Linda (Kingdom of Italy). The crew were picked up by a fishing boat.[101]
^ abcdeChesneau, Roger, and Eugene M. Kolesnik, Conway′s All the World′s Fighting Ships, 1860-1905, New York: Mayflower Books, 1979, ISBN0-8317-0302-4, p. 398.].
^"Accidents". The Cornishman. No. 319. 28 August 1884. p. 7.
^"Accidents". The Cornishman. No. 322. 18 September 1884. p. 6.
^Larn, Richard (1992). The Shipwrecks of the Isles of Scilly. Nairn: Thomas & Lochar. ISBN0-946537-84-4.
^Harvey, G W; Sanchez, Eliza (22 January 1885). "The Wreck of the RMS Cordillera (letter)". The Cornishman. No. 340. p. 6.
^"A Gunboat Wrecked And Great Loss Of Life. 52 Officers And Men Drowned". The Cornishman. No. 323. 25 September 1884.
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^"American Marine Engineer March, 1914". National Marine Engineers Beneficial Association of the United States. Retrieved 9 November 2020 – via Haithi Trust.
^"Nineteen of the crew". The Cornishman. No. 321. 11 September 1884. p. 4.
^"Loss Of A Penzance Schooner". The Cornishman. No. 326. 16 October 1884. p. 8.
^"Brave Rescue of 20 Hands". The Cornishman. No. 326. 16 October 1884. p. 8.
^"Steamship Collision On The Clyde". The Cornishman. No. 326. 16 October 1884. p. 8.
^"Loss Of A Barque And Their Lives". The Cornishman. No. 326. 16 October 1884. p. 8.
^"A. R. Noyes". Hunting New England Shipwrecks. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
^ ab"Padstow". The Cornishman. No. 328. 30 October 1884. p. 4.
^"Our Ships and our Sailours". The Cornishman. No. 328. 30 October 1884. p. 5.
^"Total Loss Of A Steamer At Lamorna". The Cornishman. No. 328. 30 October 1884. p. 5.
^Chesneau, Roger, and Eugene M. Kolesnik, Conway′s All the World′s Fighting Ships, 1860-1905, New York: Mayflower Books, 1979, ISBN0-8317-0302-4, p. 265.].
^"Protracted Sufferings". The Cornishman. No. 327. 23 October 1884. p. 5.
^"Loss Of A Yarmouth Fishing-boat". The Cornishman. No. 328. 30 October 1884. p. 5.
^"By the loss of a steamer Little Beck ...". The Cornishman. No. 329. 6 November 1884. p. 6.
^"The Three Towns". The Cornishman. No. 332. 27 November 1884. p. 5.