The John Fairfield
Wrecked 1834 of the Isle of man
54 04.135 N
004 40 897 W
The John Fairfield was a wooden brig
built in Poole in 1834
She
sailed on Monday 3rd November 1834 bound for Cuba from
Liverpool, when a storm blew up she took shelter in Ramsey
Bay. During a lull in the storm the Captain, Captain
Winby, decided to run The weather but unfortunately got
caught out rounding the south of the Island, when the wind
blew up again, it was now 6pm, Friday 7th
November the Captain decided to try and run back to
Ramsey to shelter. At 7pm now in a howling gale and
total darkness the crew reported lights, which the Captain
took to be Douglas so he heeled the ship north but he hadn't
even cleared Langness and was still short of
Castletown. Within 10 minutes the ship grounded beam on
and the mast broke, disappearing overboard, the anchor was
dropped which caused the stern of the ship to be drove
ashore, the ship was pummelled by waves and eventually was
grounded by Poyll Vaaish. Luckily she was close enough
for the 18 crew and passengers to scramble ashore. The
cargo estimated to be worth £50'000 was calico, cloth
lamps and crockery and various other items was
saved but there was some looting. The garrison
from Castle Rushen were despatched to guard the wreck this
resulted in the accidental shooting of a 14 yr old boy , John
McHutchin, who was in a small boat passing the
wreck site, when one of the soldiers took them to be
looters...
There is nothing left of the John
Fairfield now but the wreck site is littered with broken, well worn
fragments of pottery which can be seen all over the shore
especially at low tide, for those with a keen eye it is still
possible to find musket flints as well.
This cache is
available at anytime but care must be shown at high tides, also as
the footpath can get very muddy good boots are advised. The
Cache is best approached from above. Please replace exactly as
found as this area is frequented by muggles especially the younger
variety..
The cache orinally
contained:
- CN Tower sugar
- BMW
- Golden Bull
- Book
- Keyring
- Scoobies
- Some Bushys Stickers
- Krab
- And a LED Torch for FTF ... Happy Hunting
