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Arab [possibly]: Upper Firth Of Clyde
Obstruction (Period Unassigned), Smack (19th Century)
Site Name Arab [possibly]: Upper Firth Of Clyde
Classification Obstruction (Period Unassigned), Smack (19th Century)
Alternative Name(s) 'Off Ascog'; Bogany Point; Craigmore Point; Ascog Point; Montford; Bute; Inner Clyde Estuary; Arab (Possibly)
Canmore ID 102477
Site Number NS16SW 8008
NGR NS 11634 64379
Datum WGS84 - Lat/Long
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/102477
- Council Argyll And Bute
- Parish Maritime - Argyll And Bute
- Former Region Strathclyde
- Former District Maritime
- Former County Not Applicable
NS16SW 8008 1163 6437
N55 50.15 W5 .5
NLO: Bogany Point [name: NS 108 654]
Craigmore [name: NS 107 651]
Montford [name: NS 107 641]
Ascog Point [name: NS 108 633].
Formerly entered as NS16SW 9106.
25 July 1896 ARAB, 18 years, of Glasgow, wood yacht (smack), 5 ton, 3 men, Master A. Petrie, Bowling, Dumbartonshire. Cruising in Firth of Clyde. Ballast. 2 dead. Wind NE6. Off Ascog, Bute.
Source: PP Abstracts of Shipping Casualties on Coasts, or in Rivers and Harbours of the UK July 1896-97 (1898 [C.8917] LXXXVIII.401).
NMRS, MS/829/67 (no. 859).
Horizontal Datum = OGB
General water depth = 25
Surveying Details
-----------------------------
21 March 1983. This foul could be the wreck of the wooden smack ARAB. The position given is 55 50 09N, 005 00 30W.
12 May 1986. The site was not found during general survey.
Report by HMS GLEANER.
Hydrographic Office 1995.
(Classified as wooden yacht, in ballast: date of loss cited as 25 July 1896). Arab: this vessel foundered off Craigmore Point, Bute. Capt. Petrie.
Registration: Glasgow. Built 1878. 5grt. Length: 9m. Beam: 3m.
(Location of loss cited as N55 49.50 W5 0.00).
I G Whittaker 1998.
The location cited remains unverified.
Craigmore Point is not noted as such on the 1995 edition of the OS 1:50,000 map.
Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 29 September 2003.
Loss (25 July 1896)
25 July 1896 ARAB, 18 years, of Glasgow, wood yacht (smack), 5 ton, 3 men, Master A. Petrie, Bowling, Dumbartonshire. Cruising in Firth of Clyde. Ballast. 2 dead. Wind NE6. Off Ascog, Bute.
Source: PP Abstracts of Shipping Casualties on Coasts, or in Rivers and Harbours of the UK July 1896-97 (1898 [C.8917] LXXXVIII.401).
NMRS, MS/829/67 (no. 859).
(Classified as wooden yacht, in ballast: date of loss cited as 25 July 1896). Arab: this vessel foundered off Craigmore Point, Bute. Capt. Petrie.
Registration: Glasgow. Built 1878. 5grt. Length: 9m. Beam: 3m.
(Location of loss cited as N55 49.50 W5 0.00).
I G Whittaker 1998.
External Reference (1995)
Horizontal Datum = OGB
General water depth = 25
Surveying Details
-----------------------------
21 March 1983. This foul could be the wreck of the wooden smack ARAB. The position given is 55 50 09N, 005 00 30W.
12 May 1986. The site was not found during general survey.
Report by HMS GLEANER.
Hydrographic Office 1995.
Note (29 September 2003)
The location cited remains unverified.
Craigmore Point is not noted as such on the 1995 edition of the OS 1:50,000 map.
Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 29 September 2003.
Reference (2011)
Whittaker ID : 15776
Name : ARAB
Latitude : 554930
Longitude : 50000
Date Built : 1878
Registration : GLASGOW
Type : YACHT (WOOD)
Tonnage : 5
Tonnage Code : G
Length : 9
Beam : 3
Loss Day : 25
Loss Month : 7
Loss Year : 1896
Comment : Foundered off Craigmore Point, Bute. Capt. Petrie
Cargo : BALLAST
Reference (19 April 2012)
UKHO Identifier : 003946
Feature Class : Obstn
Obstruction Category : Foul ground
State : LIVE
Classification : Unclassified
Position (Lat/long) : 55.83583,-5.00833
Horizontal Datum : ORDNANCE SURVEY OF GREAT BRITAIN (1936)
WGS84 Position (Lat/long) : 55.83576,-5.00950
WGS84 Origin : 3-D Cartesian Shift (BW)
Position Quality : Precisely known
Depth Quality : Depth unknown
Water Depth : 25
Vertical Datum : Lowest Astronomical Tide
Name : ARAB (POSSIBLY)
Type : WOODEN SMACK
Flag : ?BRITISH
Contact Description : None reported
Original Sensor : None reported
Original Source : Unknown
Surveying Details : **NO PREVIOUS RECORD.
**F SHOWN IN 555009N, 050030W ON 1907. (DATE NOT RECORDED).
**24.6.82 SHOWN AS FOUL ON NE 2131.
**H1310/83/14 21.3.83 COULD BE WK OF WOODEN SMACK ARAB. (P MOIR).
**H2885/83 12.5.86 NOT FOUND DURING SURVEY, BUT NOT SEARCHED FOR. (HMSML GLEANER, HI 165C).
Chart Symbol : F
Date Last Amended : 19/02/2003
Desk Based Assessment (27 November 2014)
No further information found on shipbuilder or build-place
Information from Sally Evans (Cotswold Archaeology), 27/11/2014.
Desk Based Assessment (27 November 2014)
The probable wreck of the Arab has been identified. The Arab was a wooden yatch (smack), recorded to have been lost in 1896. There are no vessels on Clydesite (http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/shipview.asp) which match the name and descriptions of this vessel, suggesting the Arab may not be Clyde-built.
Information from Sally Evans (Cotswold Archaeology), 27/11/2014.
Project (October 2014 - April 2015)
The maritime archaeology of the Clyde has been identified as a focus for a major study of human interaction with the river through time by the RCAHMS following on from recommendations by the Scottish Archaeological Research Framework (ScARF). Source to
Sea has been developed as the long-term research programme, of which the research into human connections with the River Clyde forms part. This project has comprised a study of the surviving shipwreck heritage of Clyde-built vessels lost within the Clyde estuary and Firth of Clyde.
This project has collated information from a range of sources and has enhanced knowledge of Clyde-built wrecks within the Clyde. In particular information from recreational divers has proved invaluable and has been the source of detailed information about the current condition of many Clyde-built wrecks, useful for on-going management. A number of wrecks previously recorded as of unknown identity in the RCAHMS database were positively identified during the project and more accurate positional information was established for a number of other wrecks. Additionally, the project identified a potentially significant wreck (Margaret Niven) the remains of which were not previously recorded. This project has also identified a number of other potentially significant wrecks within the Clyde, which reflect both its unique contributions to world-wide shipbuilding and local connections. These wrecks include paddle steamers (Lapwing and Princess of Wales), Clyde Puffers (e.g. Margaret Niven), steam-yachts with military connections (HMS Breda), a dredger (Greenock) and an 18th-century West Indiaman (Lady Margaret). Numerous other wrecks have been identified by this project, and all display some degree of significance.
Information from Sally Evans (Cotswold Archaeology) April 2015
