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Wick's Black Saturday victims commemorated 171 years on


By Alan Hendry

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Mike Coupland laying a wreath on behalf of the Merchant Navy Association. Picture: Alan Hendry
Mike Coupland laying a wreath on behalf of the Merchant Navy Association. Picture: Alan Hendry

VICTIMS of Wick’s Black Saturday disaster were remembered at the weekend as more than 40 boats gathered in the bay for a commemorative service and wreath-laying ceremony.

Led by the Wick Society’s historic Isabella Fortuna, the flotilla provided a magnificent spectacle for the crowds of onlookers watching from vantage points above the harbour.

There was a noticeable swell in the bay, and a grey bank of cloud covered the sun as the two wreaths were laid on the water, but conditions were blissfully calm compared with the ferocious storm on August 19, 1848, which claimed the lives of 37 fishermen from Caithness, the Western Isles and Orkney.

Sunday’s event was organised by the Seafarers Memorial Group, which is raising funds to erect a memorial at Wick’s Braehead in memory of all seafarers lost at sea from or in the WK registration area.

The Wick Society's Isabella Fortuna heading out to the bay for the start of the service. Picture: Alan Hendry
The Wick Society's Isabella Fortuna heading out to the bay for the start of the service. Picture: Alan Hendry

The group was supported by a number of agencies as well as local fishing boat owners. Forty-six vessels took part, including the Bremner Fishing Company’s Boy Andrew, many of the workboats serving the Beatrice offshore wind farm, and the RNLB Edward Duke of Windsor which is standing in for Wick’s Roy Barker II while it undergoes a refit.

A two-minute silence was observed after the boats had taken up their positions in the bay. The Rev Andrew Barrie, minister of Pulteneytown and Thrumster Church, gave a roll call of those who died 171 years ago, and details of the families they left behind, followed by readings and a prayer.

Wreaths were laid by George Carter, the well-known fishing skipper from Lybster, and Mike Coupland, local branch secretary of the Merchant Navy Association. Flags had been lowered to half-mast, adding to the mood of sombre reflection.

Piper Alasdair Miller played the lament Flowers of the Forest, having earlier given a rendition of the Mingulay Boat Song as the Isabella Fortuna left the harbour. Others on the Isabella included Lord Thurso, the Lord-Lieutenant of the county, and MSP Gail Ross as well as members of the Wick Society.

Speaking after returning to shore, Willie Watt, chairman of the Seafarers Memorial Group, described it as “a very moving day”.

He said: “There were many organisations that made it happen. The spectrum of boats was unbelievable, from yachts to working boats to leisure vessels, big and small.

We were completely focused on being respectful and making sure it was an event that will be remembered for all the right reasons.

“From old industry to new industry they were all represented, and I think that’s what the seafarers’ memorial is all about – it’s the full cross-section of seafaring people.

“Today we definitely didn’t want fundraising to be at the forefront, out of respect to the occasion that we were remembering. We were completely focused on being respectful and making sure it was an event that will be remembered for all the right reasons.

“It was a fantastic turnout from the local vessels – everybody participated.

The event was well supported by local boat owners. Picture: Alan Hendry
The event was well supported by local boat owners. Picture: Alan Hendry

“All the agencies that helped put this event together are to be complimented because it was quite a challenge to get everything to work as it did.”

He added: “The amount of people that were on the Braehead and round the quays and sitting in all nooks and crannies showed how much interest there is in commemorating these types of events and the fact that people have been lost at sea for generations.”

The severity of the storm on Black Saturday caused some boats to crash against each other as they tried to reach the mouth of the harbour. Mr Carter (84), with his vast experience of the sea, had sympathy for their plight.

Some of the boats gathering in Wick Bay. Picture: Alan Hendry
Some of the boats gathering in Wick Bay. Picture: Alan Hendry

“There was a rush of boats for the harbour. Once they came halfway up the bay in these open boats with a lugsail there was no turning back – they were committed,” he said.

“These boats were designed to go to the herring fishing in summertime, in good weather. They weren’t designed to be caught in gales.

“I can remember being at sea with my grandfather under sail. He had an engine but his attitude was, if there was a breath of wind, ‘stop that noisy, smelly thing and get the sail up’. I can remember him saying that.”

It was a magic day. There were one or two damp eyes.

Mr Coupland said: “It was a magic day. Seeing the boats, it was almost like Dunkirk. There were one or two damp eyes.”

The minister, Mr Barrie, said it had been “a great privilege” to be part of the event.

He explained: “Our church – or at least the Pulteneytown part, which used to be St Andrew’s – is really there because of the harbour and the fishermen. So it’s a huge part of our heritage as a church but it’s also a great part of the heritage of the whole community.

The Boy Andrew with some of the other boats behind. Picture: Alan Hendry
The Boy Andrew with some of the other boats behind. Picture: Alan Hendry

“To be involved is a great privilege. It was wonderful to see so many folk up on the Braehead and in other places. Folk obviously care about the harbour still, they care about these things, and it’s wonderful to be part of it.

“It is a deeply tragic event. There are lots of names from Lewis, lots of names from other places, and I guess it just shows how connected all these fishing communities were in those days.

“Newspaper reports were saying there were 94 lost across the whole of the north coast that day, so we’re commemorating the tragedy in Wick but it is part of this bigger thing.”

Anyone wishing to donate to the memorial appeal can go to http://www.wonderful.org and search for Seafarers Memorial Group.

Wick gala queen Maja Pearson hands over a donation from the Wick Gala Committee of over £150 to Willie Watt for the Seafarers Memorial Group. Money raised by the group will go towards the creation of a permanent sculpture. Picture: David G Scott
Wick gala queen Maja Pearson hands over a donation from the Wick Gala Committee of over £150 to Willie Watt for the Seafarers Memorial Group. Money raised by the group will go towards the creation of a permanent sculpture. Picture: David G Scott

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