TAY (Fully rigged ship)

Position .... Haisborough Sands (Not located)

Built ... 1885

Builder ... Russel & Co Ltd, Port Glasgow

Construction ... Iron

Masts ... x3

Dimensions ... 257 x 38.2 x 23.2 feet

Tonnage ... 1591 net

Lost ... 23rd June 1888

Cause ... Stranded on Haisborough Sands

Owner at time of loss ... P.M. Farlane, Port Glasgow

Flag ... British

Master ... John Kerr

Casualties ... None

Ownership history

Built in 1885 by Russell & Co  for P.M. Farlane , who in turn retained ownership of the Tay up until the time of her loss three years later in 1888.

Loss of the Tay

On the 22nd June 1888 the Tay set off from Middlesbrough bound for Melbourne Australia with a cargo of 2,465 tons of railway iron and 100 tons of coke. When off the north east coast of Norfolk the Tay stranded on Haisborough Sands and became a total loss At the time of her loss the weather is described as being NE force 4. At the court of enquiry the loss was attributed to an error in navigation and no allowance being made for the tide which was setting the vessel towards the sand bank. The Tay's master, John Kerr had engaged the services of a pilot by the name of Mr Fountain in order to navigate the Tay through the North Sea. However unbeknown to John Kerr it transpired that the pilot did not hold a licence to pilot in the North Sea.

The finding of the court of enquiry on the part of John Kerr was that he had made a grave error in handing over the navigation of the ship to the pilot who held no licence for the North Sea and that Joh Kerr should of asked to see the pilots licence. In addition John Kerr was considered negligant in the fact he took no measures himself in order to verify the courses steered or the ships position. In turn the court found John Kerr in default and suspended his certificate for three months. The court concluded that the pilot's actions were the main contributory factors in the loss of the Tay.

Rescue of the crew

After the Tay hit the sand bank the sails were lowered and the ships boats made ready to abandon ship. In doing this one of the boats was damaged and rendered useless. Rockets and flares were fired by both the Tay and the Haisborough Light Vessel in order to bring attention to the shore as to the Tay's plight. At around 2am the Caister lifeboat set off under the tow of a tug and headed to the sands. On arriving at the Tay the Caister lifeboat took off the crew and transferred them to the tug. The tug took the lifeboat back in tow and headed for Caister and dropped off the master John Kerr. The remainder of the crew stayed aboard the tug and were taken on to Yarmouth.

The Tay today (2023) Not located