Additional information courtesy of Christine Simm

Technical

Official Number: 60416
Yard Number: 134
Completed: 1869
As yacht – 263 tons burthen 103n – 178.78g – 98.53n 115.4 x 21.5 x 12.4 feet
Sails: Sail plan altered to schooner rig and then mast removed and ketch rigged
Gross Tonnage: 178.78
Net Tonnage: 98.53
Length: 115.4 ft
Breadth: 21.5 ft
Depth: 12.4 ft
Built: Alexander Stephen & Sons, Linthouse, Govan
Engine: 30nhp C.2-cyl and boiler by Alexander Stephen & Sons, Linthouse, Govan

Note: Composite (iron frames, African oak, teak & greenheart planking) screw steamer, three masted hybrid rig (schooner brig), ice strengthened.

History

24.3.1869: Launched by Alexander Stephen & Sons, Kelvinhaugh (Yd.No.134) for James Lamont, Knockdow, Argyllshire as DIANA a yacht. Fitting out in Kingston Dock.
14.14.1869: Appropriated.
14.4.1869: Registered (Part I) at Glasgow.
15.4.1869: Sailed Glasgow (Capt C. Inversoy), with an expedition led by James Lamont with others, to explore the polar seas to the NE of Spitsbergen with a hope of finding open water towards the Pole.
20.4.1869: Passed through Caledonian Canal.
23.4.1869: Sailed Inverness for Spitsbergen and the North Seas.
23.6.1869: Reported at Hammerfest, North Cape.
17.7.1869: Off Spitsbergen. One of five expeditions in these waters.
11.9.1869: Arrived Tromsø. Open water had not been found.
6.10.1869: Arrived Dundee. Cargo consisted 30 sea horses (walrus), 90 large seals, 2 bears, 102 deer and 10 tons oil. Over wintered in Dundee.
4.2.1870: Reported to be fitting out for a further expedition to Gillis Land, NW of Novaya Zemlya.
16.4.1870: Sailed Dundee for Greenland (Lamont shown as master).
6.1870: Arrived Hammerfest. After coaling to sail for Novaya Zemlya and Spitsbergen. Efforts to go further north from Novaya Zemlya but encountered unusually heavy drift ice on the western shores up to the end of June. The vessel in forcing her way through in a northerly direction, stripped her propeller of one blade as well as consuming a great quantity of coal. It was decided to concentrate on hunting the walrus, reindeer and polar bear.
2.9.1970: Arrived Tromsø from Spitsbergen.
17.9.1870: Arrived Shetland and the Shetlanders in the crew disembarked.
19.9.1870: Arrived Dundee. Over wintered at Dundee.
17.4.1871: Reactivated and ran engine trials in the river.
22.4.1871: Sailed Dundee for Arctic regions (Capt. Lessortier).
26.4.1971: Put into Kirkwall.
28.4.1871: Called Lerwick to pick up Shetland crew members and sailed for Greenland.
16.7.1871: Arrived Dundee having found the ice in a state which precluded all possibility of penetrating to the north of Spitsbergen. Reached latitude 81 24. Landed 1100 seals and I bear.
14.2.1873: Reported the ship had been chartered by Mr Benjamin Leigh Smith. Being outfitted by Mr Bruce of the Dundee Seal & Whale Fishing Co and will sail in early May under command of Capt Fairweather. Before proceeding on the expedition she will go to the sealing grounds, returning to Dundee towards the end of April.
25 2.1873: Called Peterhead (Capt Fairweather) on way to Greenland sealing grounds.
22.4.1873: Reported ‘take’ was 100 tons.
10.5.1873: Sailed Dundee for the Northern Seas (Mr Smith with sailing master); about twenty crew. To rendezvous at Cobb Bay (Seal Bay), NW Spitsbergen with the sailing yacht SAMSON, owned by Mr Smith, which, with Capt Walker in command, had left Hull on May 1, loaded with additional stores. She was left at a suitable anchorage.
1.6.1873: In position lat. 77.40 among floating ice having experienced very severe weather and unable to reach Jan Mayen Island. Proceeded outside the ice towards north west corner of Spitsbergen to meet the SAMSON. The object is to attain the highest possible latitude, either by following the western coast of Giles Land (Kvitova – north east Spitsbergen) to northward or any other practicable route.
28.9.1873: Arrived Dundee after a very rough passage, having abandoned all hope of getting further north owing to the ice being tightly packed and later with young ice forming. Reached lat. 81.00. Landed about two to three tons of narwhal/seal oil.
22.5.1874: Reported that Capt Joseph Wiggins, Sunderland had chartered the ship to proceed on another Arctic cruise by way of Novaya Zemlya. Capt Brown, Peterhead will be in command and a search will be made for the Austrian expedition which proceeded to the Polar seas two years ago. The main object of the cruise is to ascertain whether commerce could be carried between Europe and Central Asia via the Kara Sea.
4.6.1873: Sailed Dundee. Called at Tromsø and Hammerfest and assured that there was no hope of entering the Kara Sea but thought otherwise. Proceeded to Kara Straits and with little or no ice entered on June 26. At Litke Island the ship became trapped in the ice and remained so for three weeks. On release steamed up the Gulf of Ob and took soundings of four fathoms up to the top of the Gulf. Bely Island was cleared on August 25 and sailed south the ice having cleared and moved north. Proceeded to Malygina Straits, Novaya Zemlya to get to the west as soon as possible. On August 30, in Kostin Bay with worsening weather, fog and strong currents decided to bear away to Vardö, but on September 2 when within 50 miles off that port caught by a heavy westerly gale and driven northwards, decided to steam to Hammerfest. Reached port just an hour before the Austrian expedition.
26.9.1874: Arrived Dundee. Capt Wiggins reached 76.00N 86.00E and was convinced that a resurvey of the area should be undertaken and that a trade route was possible. Laid up at Dundee.
7.12.1880: Reported sold to The Hudson’s Bay Co Ltd, City of London.
1880: Glasgow registry closed. Registered at London.
12.1.1881: After engine trials sailed Dundee for Glasgow (Capt Allen).
9.2.1881: Arrived Glasgow for overhaul prior to returning to the Arctic seas. Fitted with Bell Colman’s refrigerated chamber, delivering 25,000cuft of cold air per hour. Operating in season August 14 to September 12 in Hudson’s Bay freezing salmon catches, sailing at the end for London. Rest of time involved in general UK coasting or laid up.
16.6.1881: Sailed Gravesend for Labrador via Glasgow, Stromness (Capt Allen).
22.7.1881: Arrived at the company’s settlement at the entrance to Hudson’s Bay.
27.9.1881: Passed Gravesend for West India Dock, London. Landed about 31 tons (about 6,000 fish) of frozen salmon in excellent condition; sold on Billingsgate market.
31.10.1881: Arrived Bo’ness from Leith (Capt Allen).
3.11.1881: Arrived Aberdeen from Bo’ness, cargo coals.
6.1.1882: In West India Dock, London.
8.6.1882: In West India Dock, London. Prior to sailing for Labrador via Stromness/Kirkwall.
5.10.1882: Called Plymouth (Capt Riches) to coal, on passage Hudson’s Bay for London with first salmon of the season.
10.10.1882: Passed Gravesend for West India Dock. Landed 25 tons (about 4,900 salmon 16 – 30 lbs each).
19.6.1883: Sailed Stromness for Labrador (Capt Riches) having embarked young men who will be employed in the salmon fishing.
12.10.1883: Called Plymouth (Capt Riches) to coal, on passage Hudson’s Bay for London with first salmon of the season.
1.11.1883: Discharged in St. Katherine’s Dock. Afterwards laid up in West India Dock.
6.5.1884 : This pattern continued, although salmon was also salted and exported by the Hudson Bay Co, until end of the 1887 season, when following the Gordon Report, the Dominion looked to take control of the fisheries in Labrador.
30.11.1887: Offered for sale by auction at London by John Thompson & Son, London, the fine composite screw steamer DIANA along with her refrigeration apparatus (removed from ship). May be sold together or separately.
3.3.1888: Reported change of ownership to George Rodrigues, Liverpool. London registry closed. Registered at Liverpool. George Rodrigues designated managing owner.
1889: Sold to Bossiere Freres & Co, Le Havre. Liverpool registry closed.
1889: Registered at Le Havre as GIVRIQUE. Purchased possibly with a view to furthering the brothers’, Henry and Rene, interest in the Kerguelen Islands. In the event she traded in much the same way as for the Hudson’s Bay Company. In season fishing and carrying frozen salmon from Labrador to Paris. To navigate the Seine it was necessary to lift out the masts. Out of season employed fishing in La Manche (English Channel) as far as the Isles of Scilly, landing again in Paris.
11.10.1889: Reported arrived Paris from Labrador (Capt Le Manchec).
1890: Remeasured 180g 101n.
9.5.1890: Arrived Le Havre from Isles of Scilly fishing grounds (Capt Le Manchec).
6.6.1890: Left Labrador to fish for salmon and then return to Europe.
27.7.1890. Arrived St. John, New Brunswick from Labrador (Capt Le Manchec).
31.7.1890: Sailed for Le Havre.
3.10.1890: Reported berthed in Paris with 23,000 kg of salmon from Labrador.
25.11.1890: In collision near Le Havre with Dutch steamer ORANGE NASSAU (1304grt/1853) and severely damaged.
7.1891: Sold to The Grimsby Steam Fishing Co Ltd (64/64), Grimsby.
21.7.1891: Henry Kelly, Cleethorpes designated manager.
22.7.1891: Registered at Grimsby as DIANA (GY358).
15.4.1893: Sold to The Turner Engine Syndicate Ltd (64/64), City of London.
1893: Re-engined, T.5-cyl (2-81/2”, 1-21”, 2-36” x 22”) (400ihp) and boiler by Earle’s Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd, Hull – 10 knots.
15.4.1893: Vessel mortgaged (64/64) to The Grimsby Steam Fishing Co Ltd, Grimsby for the sum of £1,500 with interest at 5% (A).
21.4.1893: George Edward James Moody designated manager.
27.3.1894: 189.11grt 70.58 net. Tonnages altered as per Certificate of Survey dated 22.3.1894.
27.6.1894: Vessel mortgaged (64/64) to Joseph Chapman, Grimsby for the sum of £2,000 with interest at 6% (B).
6.6.1895: Sold by order of the mortgagee under mortgage (A) to John Bryant (64/64), Grimsby.
26.10.1895: Sold to The Grimsby Steam Fishing Co Ltd (64/64), Grimsby. Henry Kelly designated manager.
6.11.1895: Recorded new HP cylinder (121/2”) fitted by Earle’s Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd, Hull as per Certificate of Survey dated 24.10.1895.
28.12.1895: Arrived Grimsby from Iceland with a cargo of herring. Reported that during a gale the bulwarks had been broken, no other damage reported.
1898: Transferred to fish out of Fleetwood. William Moody Kelly designated manager.
17.1.1898: In the early hours in thick fog, inwards from the fishing grounds stranded on Knott Spit and listed. Came off on the next tide and docked to land. Also stranded on the point of the Knott was the steam carrier MARTIN (FD), outwards on the morning tide, which came off on the next tide and proceeded.
6.4.1898: Before midnight in thick fog, stranded on Pilling Sands, striking heavily in the swell. With rudder and propeller lost and fearing further damage, the skipper made signals of distress.
7.4.1898: In the early hours, the Fleetwood lifeboat, MAUD PICKUP (Sub-Cox John Leadbetter) responded and on arrival found the trawler afloat and leaking. Taking her to anchor, and the crew wishing to remain onboard, the lifeboat left to get a tug. The steam tug BROCK (140grt/1883) took the trawler in tow and with the vessel filling rapidly, they made to beach the trawler but with the ebb tide she was carried against a groyne breaking some piles. At low water it was found that the hull planking was seriously damaged and doubtful that the pumps would cope if she was to be refloated.
22.6.1899: Offered for auction by Mr J. Smyth, at Fleetwood, “ as lies on Kirk Bank … very strong, and in good condition, except some damage to her keel. “ Not sold.
25.11.1899: Grimsby registry closed “Wrecked near Fleetwood”.

Engravings from the book “Yachting In The Artic Seas” Here

Click to enlarge images

sv Diana

sv Diana

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Changelog
06/05/2011: 5 updates since then.
21/04/2020: Updated information.
12/09/2021: Added images of engravings.
15/09/2021: Major update to history and technical details.