''Irex'' was a sailing vessel wrecked at

Scratchell's Bay Scratchell's Bay is a bay on the south west coast of the Isle of Wight, England just to the south east of The Needles. It faces roughly south towards the English Channel, it is 250m in length and is straight. The name is thought to have come fro ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

by The Needles on 25 January 1890, while on her maiden voyage.

Ship history

''Irex'' was built by J. Reid & Co. of

Port Glasgow Port Glasgow ( gd, Port Ghlaschu, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recen ...

, and launched on 10 October 1889. The steel-hulled three-masted ship was long, and in the beam. On 24 December 1889 ''Irex'' sailed from

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

, bound for

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, under the command of Captain Hutton, carrying a cargo of 3,600 tons of iron sewerage pipes. However, storms meant that she was obliged to shelter in Belfast Lough until 1 January 1890. She sailed again, but the winds reached hurricane strength, and she attempted to take shelter in Falmouth on the 24th, but was unable to get a pilot boat to guide her in, so continued up the English Channel towards

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

. As ''Irex'' approached the Needles, Hutton mistook the

Needles Lighthouse The Needles Lighthouse is an active 19th century lighthouse on the outermost of the chalk rocks at The Needles on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom, near sea level. Designed by James Walker, for Trinity House at a cost of £20,000. It was ...

for a light from a pilot boat, and drove his ship up onto the shore at about 10 p.m. Large waves broke over the ship, and the Captain, First Mate, Boatswain and a crewman were killed. At 9 a.m. ''Irex'' was seen by soldiers stationed at

The Needles Batteries The Needles Batteries are two military batteries built above the Needles stacks to guard the West end of the Solent. The field of fire was from approximately West South West clockwise to Northeast and they were designed to defend against enem ...

who alerted the Totland lifeboat. The steam collier ''Hampshire'' also come to the aid of ''Irex'', but neither ship were able to approach ''Irex'' before noon. After nearly being smashed into ''Hampshire'', the lifeboat abandoned the attempt to rescue the crew, and was towed back to port by ''Hampshire''. At 1.15 p.m. the Coastguard launched a rocket from the battery, taking a line, which caught in the rigging. As the crew attempted to reach the line, one man fell and was killed. It took them two hours to secure a

hawser Hawser () is a nautical term for a thick cable or rope used in mooring or towing a ship. A hawser passes through a hawsehole, also known as a cat hole, located on the hawse.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, third edition, ...

, which enabled the 29 survivors from the crew of 36 to be winched by

breeches buoy A breeches buoy is a rope-based rescue device used to extract people from wrecked vessels, or to transfer people from one place to another in situations of danger. The device resembles a round emergency personal flotation device with a leg harn ...

from the ship to the cliff-top.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irex, SS 1889 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Victorian-era merchant ships of the United Kingdom Shipwrecks of the Needles Maritime incidents in 1890