The collision with the Bull lightship
TWO LIVES LOST
Captain John Carey, of the s.s. Redland, of Hull, made a statement to the Custom authorities at Hull about the loss of his ship when on a voyage from Hull to Berwick. He said the Redland left Hull on Thursday night at 8 p.m. The weather was hazy. About 10:30 they called at Grimsby Pier and landed a passenger. He then cleared No. 4 buoy and steered E. for five minutes, and then shaped a course S. E. ½ E. to clear the Bull light. He kept on this case till a little after 11, and sighted the Bull light about 11:23, a little on the starboard bow. He kept on in this position about two minutes before the collision. Finding the tide was setting him towards the lightship, he starboarded about two points and kept the engine at full speed. He was then hailed from the lightship, “You will not clear.” The helm was then put hard-a-starboard, but there was not time to clear, and the Redland struck the lightship full on her starboard bow. They were hailed from the lightship to jump on board as the vessel was sinking. Four of the crew managed to get on board. She cleared in two minutes, and went adrift, taking the two hands—John Frewson, cook, and Jas. Burgon, ordinary seaman—with her. A boat could not be lowered from the lightship because it was not known what damage she had sustained. The cause of the collision, in Captain Carey’s opinion, was due to him being deceived as to his distance from the lightship and the strong ebb tide. The collision, he adds could not have been avoided by him in the circumstances. [See original document at wrecksite.eu]
Paul Ford - January 26, 2014, 6:39 pm
The sinking of the Redland, a ship with strong links to John William Ford