Ref Number: 00153
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The Irex, had been battered by storms for some 20 days, first in the Irish Sea and then in the Bay of Biscay before foundering off Scratchells Bay.
Ref Number: 00153
During its 20-day journey from Glasgow to Rio de Janeiro, the brand-new fully-rigged ship the Irex was buffeted by storms in both the Irish Sea and the Bay of Biscay. The captain decided to make a hasty retreat and run for shelter after realising that some of his crew had been injured and that the ship’s cargo had shifted.
Poor conditions persisted as the ship approached the Needles, and she eventually ran aground at Scratchells Bay, not far from the lighthouse after mistaking a light from a pilot boat as a guidance light at Hurst. In the morning she was spotted by soldiers form the Needles Battery and the alarm was raised.
It appeared that seven of the crew including the captain had been washed overboard during the night, so a race to save the rest was unfolding.
On Saturday morning, the Totland lifeboat tried to rescue the crew, but they couldn’t get close enough to the ship to do anything. From the top of the cliff, some 400 feet above the ship, the rocket equipment firm launched a rocket that carried a line directly over the vessel. Coast guards, troops, and residents struggled to fix a hawser and get the remaining crew 0f 29 to safety in a breeches buoy.
A few days later, Queen Victoria hosted a reception to honour the survivors and the non-commissioned officers (N.C.O.s) of the Royal Artillery who had helped.
Although one crew member claimed to have seen the captain, mate, and four sailors washed overboard by a massive sea while trying to launch a boat, their whereabouts and fate remain unknown to this day. There was never any sign of the ship’s log.
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