The steel steamship Walrus was launched from the yard of Burrell and Son Ltd, Glasgow (Yard No 21) in 1892. She measured 66.0′ x 18.3′ x 8.5′ and her tonnage was 88 gross, 44 net tons. She was powered by a compound steam engine by John Gauldie, Glasgow delivering 16 registered horse power. Built for Mr John Muir Paton she operated for Paton and Henry, Glasgow delivering small cargoes to the various ports around the Clyde estuary and occasionally across to Ireland. Her official number was 99832.
Her four crew members had a lucky escape when she foundered off Ailsa Craig on Tuesday 15th February, 1910. They had departed from Belfast for Irvine with a cargo of 100 tons of moulding sand earlier in the day but, on reaching Corsewall Point, the weather began to deteriorate. Heavy seas were soon breaking over the Walrus knocking her master to the deck on several occasions. The continual deluge eventually got below deck level and, with her pumps unable to cope, her fires were extinguished leaving her helpless, drifting with the tide and waves in ever increasing gloom as darkness approached. The crew tried to attract the attentions of passing ships are were eventually spotted by the Burns steamer Hound which came alongside the wallowing little vessel and managed to take off her crew safely. In a rather bizarre sub plot to the whole incident, the body of a fourth crewman, Duncan Galbraith, who had fallen into Belfast harbour the preceding Saturday and drowned was aboard the Walrus and, with the crew fighting to save themselves, the body in it’s wooden coffin was left aboard the foundering ship and was assumed to have gone down with her. However, the body in it’s coffin was washed ashore on Croy beach the following day and later taken away for burial.
The small wreck of the Walrus lies in position 55° 19.615’N, 005° 04.211’W some three miles north of Ailsa Craig oriented 120/300 degrees. This position is around 75-100 metres east of the charted wreck symbol, and we would recommend working between the two marks to locate what is a small wreck in the surrounding depth. Seabed depth around the wreck is 56 metres and she rises only 2 metres at her shallowest point. Visibility is generally poor and the wreck is often subject to tidal flows making a dive on this small, difficult to locate wreck for experienced divers only. The wreck was positively identified when the bell was recovered by divers.
