Built by Hall Russell and Co Ltd., Aberdeen (Yard No 398) and launched on 12th March 1906 the steel steam trawler Adventure measured 109.1′ x 21.3′ x 11.2′ and her tonnage was 184 gross tons, 49 net tons. She was powered by a triple expansion steam engine by Hall Russell delivering 70 registered horse power. She was built for Henry Tweddell of Hartlepool and first registered in this city HL19. By 1912 she was operating out of Fleetwood (FD154) owned by the Brooklyn Fishing Company Ltd., before she was purchased by Archibald Brown of Granton. A short period of ownership by John Mitchell of Peterhead in 1920 followed before she was purchased by her final owners, Imperial Cold Storage of Aberdeen in 1921 and registered as PD 239. During World War One she was requisitioned for service as a minesweeper and was involved in the rescue efforts when HMS Bayano was torpedoed and lost off the Galloway coast in March 1915.
Steam trawler Adventure dockside
Lloyds register 1922
On the morning of 6th January, 1922 the Adventure was fishing ten miles south south east of Buchan Head under the command of skipper William Cowe of Peterhead with a crew of nine men aboard. Most of the men were below decks eating breakfast leaving two of the crew on the bridge when the trawler was rocked by a huge explosion. The unfortunate crew had pulled up a wartime mine in their nets which exploded as it collided with the ship’s starboard hull. The skipper was almost knocked off his feet by the blast but he managed to rush on deck and order the ship’s boat lowered. The chief engineer also rushed on deck to report that water was pouring into the engine room compartment. The crew managed to scramble aboard the ship’s boat and push off from the stricken trawler before the bow lifted to the skies and she went down by the stern. Only six minutes had elapsed since the explosion but luckily all the crew were safe and were quickly picked up by the Aberdeen trawler Strathugie which was fishing nearby and had rushed to the scene when it saw the explosion.
GA drawing – Lloyd’s Register Foundation
The wreck of the Adventure was dived and identified by the recovery of the ship’s bell in 2007. She lies in position 57°24.097’N, 001°37.316’W in 71 metres oriented 140°/320°. The divers reported the trawler sitting upright with substantial explosion damage to the starboard side hull that was clearly visible.
Adventure bell recovered 2007
We would like to acknowledge the assistance of Buchan Divers – www.buchandivers.com in the preparation of this article.
We would also like to thank Lloyd’s Register Foundation – Heritage & Education Centre for allowing us to reproduce documents from their archive in this article.
