View source for Matchless (pleasure yacht)

{{Short description|Boat sunk in 1894 in Morecambe Bay, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2017}}
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[[File:Jenny Brown's Point - geograph.org.uk - 1088584.jpg|thumbnail|right|Jenny Brown's Point in 2008, scene of the loss of the ''Matchless'' in 1894]]
The '''''Matchless''''' was a British sailing boat which sank in [[Morecambe Bay]], off north west England, in 1894 with the loss of 25 lives.<ref name=williams>{{cite book|last1=Williams|first1=Simon|title=The Matchless tragedy : the Morecambe boating disaster of 1894|date=2013|publisher=Mourholme Local History Society|isbn=978-0-9534298-5-1 |url=https://mourholme.co.uk/users/UserFiles/File/The%20Matchless%20Tragedy%20-%20Final%20A5.pdf}}</ref>{{rp|2}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Serious boat accident in Morecambe Bay|work=[[The Times]]|date=4 September 1894|pages=3}}</ref>

==Boat==

The ''Matchless'' was a [[Lancashire nobby]] sailing boat, used for fishing in winter and for pleasure trips in summer. It was {{convert|33|ft|m}} long, of tonnage about 5 tons, and had mainsail, foresail, topsail and jib. It had been built by a Mr Woodhouse in [[Overton, Lancashire|Overton]] in 1877.  On the day of the disaster, as was usual except in rough weather, it was operated by a single boatman, its owner Samuel Houghton, aged 54 and an experienced skipper.<ref name=williams />{{rp|9–10, 53–54}}

==Sinking==

On 3 September 1894, Houghton and 33 passengers left [[Morecambe, Lancashire|Morecambe]] to sail to [[Grange-over-Sands]]. Off [[Jenny Brown's Point]], [[Silverdale, Lancashire|Silverdale]], the vessel was caught in a strong gust of wind and capsized. Accompanying boats rescued Houghton and eight passengers; 25 passengers died. Bodies were recovered from a wide area of the bay, as far as [[Ulverston]], the last being found at Grange-over-Sands on 14 January 1895.<ref name=williams />{{rp|36}}

The dead were holidaymakers, from the industrial towns of [[Lancashire]] and [[Yorkshire]]: the largest number being twelve from [[Burnley, Lancashire|Burnley]].<ref name=williams />{{rp|43}}

==Inquests==

An [[inquest]] was held in Morecambe on the two mornings after the sinking, 4 and 5 September 1894 and reported in ''[[The Times]]'' of London.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Morecambe boating disaster|work=[[The Times]]|date=5 September 1894|pages=8}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The Morecambe disaster|work=[[The Times]]|date=6 September 1894|pages=6}}</ref> The verdict was that the dead were "accidentally drowned". No mention was made of whether the town's arrangements for the licensing of pleasure vessels might have contributed to the tragedy. The foreman of the jury was the chairman of the local authority, so had an interest in maintaining the town's reputation as a safe resort for holidaymakers. There was criticism of the speed with which the inquest had been held, giving families no time to hear the news and make arrangements to attend.<ref name=williams />{{rp|25}} The inquest has been described as "A total whitewash".<ref name=williams />{{rp|27}}

There were several further inquests as more bodies were found; notably, at an inquest held in [[Arnside]], then in the county of [[Westmorland]], the coroner informed the jury that he had already written the verdict and asked them to agree with it.<ref name=williams />{{rp|36}}

==Aftermath==

In 1895, the town of Morecambe introduced new by-laws for the regulation of pleasure boats, specifying maximum passenger numbers for each boat for both calm and stormy days (a flag being flown each day to show the day's category),  a second crew member to be employed for all trips above {{convert|6|mi|km|spell=in}}, and lifebelts and lifelines to be carried on all sailing vessels.<ref name=williams />{{rp|40}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{1894 shipwrecks}}

[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1894]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of England]]
[[Category:Morecambe Bay]]
[[Category:1877 ships]]


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