Iris: Stein, Loch Bay, Skye, Little Minch

Isle of Skye, 25th Feb., 2.12 p.m., the IRIS (brig), of Ardrossan, Hay, was driven ashore at Waternish [Vaternish], West Skye, last night, and it is feared will become a total wreck: crew saved.

Source: Shipping Intelligence, LL, No. 18,674, London, Thursday February 26 1874.

Greenock, 11th Mar., the attempt to tow off the IRIS, Hay, which ran ashore near Portree, 24th Feb., has been relinquished.

Source: Shipping Intelligence, LL, No. 18,687, London, Friday March 13 1874.

Inverness, 19th Mar., the IRIS (brig), of Ardrossan, Hay, coal laden, which struck on a rock at Lochbay Stein, 24th Feb., after having been relieved a little from her cargo, suddenly slipped from the rock and foundered in deep water.

Source: Shipping Intelligence, LL, No. 18,694, London, Saturday March 21 1874.

NMRS, MS/829/70 (no. 4066).

(Classified as wooden brig, with cargo of coal: date of loss cited as 24 February 1874). Iris: this vessel stranded at Stein, Waternish. Slipped off, and sank. Capt. Hay.

Registration: Ardrossan. Built 1857. 236grt. Length: 34m. Beam: 7m.

(Location of loss cited as N57 32.50 W6 35.00).

I G Whittaker 1998.

The location assigned to this record is essentially tentative.

Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 7 September 2004.

Whittaker ID : 7720

Name : IRIS

Latitude : 573230

Longitude : 63500

Date Built : 1857

Registration : ARDROSSAN

Type : BRIG (WOOD)

Tonnage : 236

Tonnage Code : G

Length : 34

Beam : 7

Loss Day : 24

Loss Month : 2

Loss Year : 1874

Comment : Stranded at Stein, Waternish. Slipped off and sank. Capt. Hay

Cargo : COAL

Project SAMPHIRE was designed to bring professional marine archaeological expertise into local maritime communities. The central focus of the project was to record the unique knowledge of maritime cultural heritage sites on the seabed (and intertidal zone) that is held within local communities. This was done through a programme of face-to-face community engagement, allowing knowledge exchange in both directions. The reported sites were then investigated by the SAMPHIRE Project team with the maximum involvement of local community members at every level, including fieldwork and desk-based research. The project aimed to foster a wider understanding of and interest in local maritime heritage and to promote the stewardship of this valuable local resource.

John Beaton, an employee of SAMS and a contributor to SAMPHIRE 2013, provided the SAMPHIRE team with the location and description of a shipwreck in north Skye, near Ardmore Bay. According to John, the wreck is locally known as the Iris. John reported the location and coordinates as well as describing the wreck including copper sheathed hull remains, a bronze rudder gudgeon, coal, iron knees, pump, and chain pipes.

The RCAHMS database lists a reported loss of a ship called the Iris in the region, though there are conflicting contemporary newspaper accounts as to where exactly the ship sank. The Iris was a wooden brig, built in 1857 with a length of 34m, a beam of 7m and a gross tonnage of 236. It was lost with its cargo of coal in 1874 although all hands were saved. The Canmore entry for the wreck records an abortive attempt to tow it from the rocks where it had stranded, abandoned after it had stranded in deep water.

Thanks to the details that John provided us, this wreck was selected for investigation during Phase III of SAMPHIRE. The SAMPHRE team arrived on site and began a diver investigation on 6th July, 2014. Divers immediately encountered the remains of the wreck upon reaching the seafloor on the first dive. The wreck was found to be very broken up with disarticulated portions of the hull and machinery scattered across the sandy bottom and onto the adjacent submerged boulder field. Divers photo-documented the debris field and identified concentrations of material. The second dive focused on continuing the photo documentation and traditional recording of the machinery and potentially diagnostic debris. Divers identified the remains of copper sheathing, hull planking, disarticulated hull structure, iron knees, large pipes and what appears to be steam engine machinery. Though the Iris was not a steamship, the vessel could have been fitted with auxiliary steam machinery as this was common at the time. The artefacts appear to indicate a 19th century vessel, aligning with the identification of the Iris. Further research is necessary into the construction and auxiliary machinery on the Iris to match the artefacts on the seabed but it is considered to be the most likely candidate for the wreck.

SAMPHIRE ID: 45

Classification: SCHOONER (19TH CENTURY)

Site Name: Iris;

Coordinates: 123070, 859994

Accuracy: 5m