Words & Pictures by John Liddiard -
Appeared in DIVER December 2005
The collier Vendome sank off Strumble
Head, west Wales way back in 1888 and makes a good no-stop dive, says
John Liddiard - if you can find it. Illustration by Max Ellis
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THE WRECK OF THE
STEAMSHIP Vendome lies broken at the foot of the reef at
Tri Maen-trai, right up against the rocks. On an echo-sounder, it's
hard to tell the two apart, so on a wreck this size the shot could
land anywhere.
Fortunately, when I dived the Vendome a buoy was tied to the
stern, so our tour begins at 31m on the frame that would have
supported the rudder (1). Further out from this
there are a few scraps of ribs and plates, but nothing I could
identify as the rudder. It has either been torn to pieces, or
perhaps was lost on the rocks.
The Vendome's propeller is still intact and attached to the
shaft, one of the four blades buried below, with the other three
rather rounded blades showing (2). The propeller
shaft continues through a short section of the keel part of the
stern, then breaks soon after the stern ends (3).
Some beams across the stern support just enough of it to
provide a cavity worth a quick look inside (4).
Continuing forward a little, a couple of sections of the
propeller shaft lie downhill from the starboard side of the wreck
(5).
The Vendome broke its back when it washed sideways onto Tri
Maen-trai, the break being just aft of the engine.
The next section of shaft actually lies uphill from the port
side of the wreck (6), still attached to the
remains of the two-cylinder compound engine (7). At
28m, this is pretty much the shallowest point of the wreck, with the
line of the wreck at this point turning almost 90¡ to starboard and
back down the slope.
Just forward of the engine, a cylinder on the starboard side of
the wreck (8) is a water tank. Immediately forward,
a much larger cylinder about twice the diameter is the Vendome's
single boiler (9).
Working uphill of this, the deck from above the stoke hold has
collapsed towards the port side of the wreck, with the coaming from
a coal bunker loading hatch still attached to a section of the deck
(10).
Forward again, a small anchor (11) is unlikely
to be anything to do with the wreck, more likely an anchor fouled on
the Vendome and lost since it sank in December 1888.
The larger coaming from the forward hold (12)
lies almost in line with the boiler, about three-quarters intact.
From the forward hold it is straight to the bow area, with
pairs of bollards to either side (13) of the
Vendome's single winch (14). As there are no other
signs of winch gear on the wreck, it is likely that this also served
as both an anchor winch and a cargo-handling winch.
The bow has largely disintegrated, with two large piles of
anchor chain lying across a few remaining ribs (15).
Directly forward of the anchor chain, the wreckage fizzles out,
with some unrecognisable girders at 35m, though there are still
worthwhile bits of wreck off to port and a little up the slope
(16).
A pair of Admiralty-pattern anchors lie crossed-over beside the
anchor hawse pipes (17). Just forward from this,
the forward edge of the bow (18) is the strongest
and last surviving part of this end of the Vendome, which brings us
to the end of our tour. The Vendome is small enough that at 35m most
divers will be able to see all this on a no-stop dive and still have
time to return to the buoyline or shot and ascend.
For those with bottom time remaining and dive computers,
following from the section of propeller shaft at the break
(6) leads up onto the reef that breaks the surface at Tri
Maen-trai (19), and a good selection of
Pembrokeshire marine life.
On ascent, take care not to surface directly in front of the
rock, as breaking waves will prevent the boat from picking you up. |
|
Winch on the Vendome
water tank, with boiler in the background
this small anchor is well into the wreckage but was probably fouled
on the Vendome since it sank
The Vendome's propeller
coal-bunker hatch |
The Vendome, a six-year-old 480 ton steamer belonging to the
Dynevor Colliery Company of Wales, was 155ft long with a beam of 22ft,
and drew only 13ft, writes Kendall McDonald.
While this shallow draught may have been an advantage during
Vendome's regular runs with coal to small French ports, it certainly
didn't save her from the high winds from the south-west and the pitch
black of the night of 4 December, 1888.
At five that morning, returning in ballast to Neath from Ramsay,
Isle of Man, where she had delivered a cargo of coal, the Vendomeran
onto a rock off Strumble Head. As she was taking water in through her
hull and was clearly finished, Captain William Parry of St David's
ordered his crew of 11 to their two small boats. With great difficulty
they managed to launch safely.
At daybreak, when they could see where they were, they made for
Fishguard Harbour. But first they saw the fate of their ship.
Wind-pushed waves rocked the steamer back and forth until she
slipped off the rocks into deep water and drifted only a short way
before going down.
It was not the first time Vendome had sunk. Three years
earlier, she had gone down after a collision with another ship near a
French port, and stayed under water for two years before being raised
and made seaworthy once again.
This time she would not be raised. Surprisingly, Captain Parry had
his master's certificate suspended for only three months.
The Adventurous Divers Club of Swansea found the wreck some years
ago. Members recovered the inscribed ship's bell and mounting, which was
sold at public auction for more than £500 in May 2000.
GETTING THERE: Follow the M4 and A40 to Fishguard and on to
Goodwick (where the ferry terminal is). Celtic Diving is next to Ocean
Lab on the waterfront.
TIDES: Slack water is essential and occurs
approximately 1.5 hours before high water Milford Haven and 4.5 hours
after high water Milford Haven. As there are unstable back-eddies as the
tide passes Strumble Head, slack can vary considerably with weather and
spring tides.
HOW TO FIND IT: GPS co-ordinates are 52 00.479N, 005
05.353W (degrees, minutes and decimals). Against the reef with bow to
the north-west, stern to the north-east, the wreck is very difficult to
locate, the boiler being the highest point.
DIVING, AIR : Celtic Diving, 01348 871938,
www.celticdiving.co.uk.
LAUNCHING : The public slip is by Ocean Lab and the
tourist information centre, just along the waterfront from the entrance
to the ferry terminal in Goodwick. It dries for a couple of hours either
side of low tide. Slips are also available at Porthgain and Abercastle,
though Abercastle is wet only at high tide.
ACCOMMODATION : B&B at Celtic Diving.
QUALIFICATIONS: Good for sport divers who don't want to
get into decompression.
FURTHER INFORMATION: Admiralty Chart 1973, Cardigan Bay
- Southern Part. Ordnance Survey Map 157, St David's and Haverfordwest
Area. Fishguard Tourist Information, 01348 872037.
PROS: A nice little wreck that can be seen in a no-stop
dive.
CONS: Hard to pick up on an echo-sounder as it lies
against the reef.
______________________________________________________________________________
John
Liddiard is a renowned photojournalist highly respected in the diving
world and regularly has features published in Diver Magazine
For
more information on John Liddiard visit his homepages:
www.jlunderwater.co.uk
To contact
John:
Sycamore House,
Oakfield Road,
Clifton, Bristol,
BS8 2BG.
0117 973 6770
0779 980 4498
john@deepsea.co.uk
To get in
touch with us please use our Contact/Enquiry form, alternatively the numbers or email below:
Tel : 01348 871938
Mob: 07816 640684
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