Mary Toovey

Mary Toovey

Thanks again for some great video Mat

                                     

SS Mary Toovey sailed from Guernsey for London with a cargo of stone and was reported missing presumed sunk on the 10th November 1899. Ships life boat washed ashore at Stourville near Cherbourg on the 13th She was owned by W. H. Poole of Newcastle, UK.

Name:	MARY TOOVEY
Type:	Cargo Ship
Launched:	31/05/1894
Completed:	06/1894
Builder:	Wood, Skinner & Co Ltd
Yard:	Bill Quay
Yard	52
Dimensions:	226grt, 133nrt, 120.2 x 21.2 x 9.0ft
Engines:	C2cyl (16 & 32 x 22ins), 45rhp
Engines by:	North-Eastern Marine Engineering Co Ltd, Sunderland
Propulsion:	1 x Screw
Construction:	Steel
Reg Number:	104254
History:	Alfred F Toovey (WH Poole),
06/1894	Newcastle
10/11/1899	Missing
Divers.. Mat Moley Paul Phil

As we headed out between the twin piers at the entrance of St Peter Port things were unexpectedly looking up! On the boat ride up to the wreck site north of Herm, we came across a pod of five dolphins who attached themselves to the boat. They were jumping out of the water and seemed to enjoy playing in the boats bow wave on the sides and behind us. With the sun shining and the sea calm it was time to leave the dolphins behind to catch slack water. On this occasion, armed with a set of numbers from the fishing boat captain, Captain Keenie. The gathering of usual suspects headed out to investigate the Toovey. With slack water still over an hour away, and with the prediction of 9mtr spring tides, we were expect some current on this site. Once we arrived on the numbers, we spent some time finding and placing the shot line on the wreck ( five times in all) as she is a tiny target to hit. The shot was dropped and I entered the water, upstream from the shot line buoy.

Whilst descending down the line, we were rewarded by excellent under water visibility, with the line clearly visible plunging away down into the depths. Dropped to around 40 meters and there was nothing (no wreck). I was just about to abort the dive after a quick scout around when a discarded crab pot caught my eye in the distance. As I got closer I could see the defined line of a structure about 10 meters away. As I got to it, it was obvious that it was the stern section of the Mary T. Soon the hazy outline of wreckage festooned with pout rose up from the bottom. The shot indeed had plunged into a low lying reef which this wreck has made her last resting place. It was time to go to work and get the shot tied in by the vessels boiler. The wreck itself has clearly been the subject to time, tide and it's impact with sea floor. Today, much of the deck plating lies collapsed on the rocky seabed. It is however still possible to swim along the line of the wreckage and peer down and make out the curve of the underside of the hull as it sinks down into the bottom. The remains of the boiler and propeller shaft can easily be followed back to the stern area of this vessel. Propeller are still in place with its three blades at the end of the shaft along with the ships rudder. Drifting back along the wreckage one soon comes across the remains of the steam compound engine still standing proud from the hull bottom, close by are the remains of a sizable ships boilers. Continuing forward the wreckage continues for a short distance but seems to be much more broken up and dispersed than the rear end of the vessel. Nevertheless this area of the site still provides an interesting area to rummage around its cargo of granite chippings. The bow section must of sustained some heavy damage as it hit the sea bed on sinking as its cargo of stone has spilling out of the hold on impact and spread out over the sea floor. A few minutes later, a large shadow loomed up ahead.  On approach it was evident that it was a windlass, and a large one. It rose off the bottom 4-5ft. A quick inspection for lobster came up blank.  After a complete loop around spending 20 minutes on the bottom I headed back home and started the long slow ascent to the surface. With everyone safely aboard, Silvia K headed home back through the pier heads with the last rays of the afternoon sun dramatically illuminating the remains of Castle Cornet that overlooks St Peter Port . A picturesque end to an afternoons diving, which to begin with had looked unpromising. 

 
 

Wood, Skinner and Co. Shipyard, Bill Quay, 1907

Wood, Skinner and Co of Bill Quay, Newcastle-on-Tyne builders of the SS Mary Toovey  --- James Skinner and William Wood opened the Tyne yard with six slipways, in 1883 at Bill Quay. Both of the business partners had experience working for other well-known shipbuilders. Initially the yard built coasters and short-sea traders, largely for Scandinavian companies. In 1897 it incorporated as a limited company. In 1914 the company was listed as shipbuilders and repairers at Bill Quay. The yard also made ships for the Burnett Steamship Co. Ltd of Newcastle. The small steamer Angelus was the first of 30 colliers and short-sea traders to come from the yard. Burnett had a strong working relationship with Wood, Skinner & Co. Ltd for 32 years. It only came to an end when Wood, Skinner went into liquidation in 1925. During WW1 the yards output included 12 self trimming colliers, two "Insect" class boats and six WAR 'C' and 'D' ships. Between 1921-25 the yard relied heavily on orders from Gas, Light and Coke Company and Burnett, Sharp and Stephenson, Clarke building a total of 11 ships for them in this period. The yard failed financially in 1925 having built 330 small vessels and maintaining a reputation for building colliers.

Abandoned Vessels

I have literally JUST stepped off the boat and am dripping water all over the kitchen floor. My cheeks and eyelashes are a little bit crusty with salt but I'm on a high right now because I just returned from a great dive on the cement wreck That's the Oost Vlaanderen  for the non-maritime folk reading this. It is one of the closest wrecks to St Peter Port  here in Guernsey, sunk in 1943 after a life of transporting  guns and cement for the German fortifications.The poor Ship  suffered it's demise at the hands of Avengers of 850 squadron, Fleet Arm and is now one of the many wrecks that lies upright on the ocean floor.

  

Enough of the history lesson! 

Lobsters and congers have made a comfortable home of the deck along with a shoal of pout. There are several factors that account for the Vlaanderen  popularity. The first is proximity—the ship lies just a mile and a half offshore and less than two miles out of St Peter Port  within easy range of most dive boats. In addition, it is a proper-looking shipwreck, with a classic profile that transitions from a raised foredeck to a stern wheelhouse and two cargo holds midsection, then tapers to a fantail stern. This layout provides plenty of interesting real estate to explore on the outside and inside. 

Depth and layout combine to make the Wreck ideal for a wide range of divers. Anyone comfortable in mid-range depths can peer into the open cargo holds and explore the upper deck without dropping below 25 metres. And unless you feel the need to examine the rudder, it’s possible to investigate the main deck and swim into the shadow of the covered bow without seeing 32 metres on the depth gage.

The day keeps getting better. I just got a facebook message from Mat saying he's just posted some gopro footage of today's dive .