The Morecambe Bay Tragedy (1894)

On the morning of Monday, 3rd September, 1894 - 34 passengers made their way onto a sail-powered boat that would, on a normal day, have taken them on a leisurely trip over to Grange-over-Sands, located on the north side of Morecambe Bay, Cumbria. But what should have been a day of fun and enjoyment, it would quickly escalate into a day of tragedy.

Departing from Morecambe promenade and the Princess Sailing Company Landing Stage at around 10 o'clock in the morning, the passenger list comprised of a large contingent of holiday makers who had travelled over from Burnley.

The 'Matchless' was a small fishing vessel, commonly known as a 'Lancashire nobby' and was used for fishing during the winter months and for pleasure trips in summer. Seventeen years old, the Matchless was roughly 33 feet (10m) long and weighed around five tons. It also contained a mainsail, foresail, topsail and jib.

Operated by its owner, 54 year old Samuel Houghton, who was an experience skipper with many years of sailing, after departing from the landing stage, the vessel wouldn’t take long to reach a stretch of water just off Silverdale and approximately six miles from where they had departed. The passengers, who, by now were in a merry mood and singing "Dare to be a Daniel!", were oblivious to the impending danger that was fast approaching.

Moments later, the Matchless seemed to slow down and to the right, the water had darkened slightly. One of the passengers said to Houghton, "I think we have stopped altogether," and then there was a lull, with the waters becoming still but very dark looking.

Out of nowhere, a huge gust slammed into the right side of the vessel, filling the sails and pitching it from left-to-right. And in no time at all, another gust struck from above, followed by a sudden squall, this time throwing the passengers into the water, leaving them no time to grab onto anything.

The Matchless began to rock from side-to-side before finally succumbing to the wind as she keeled over, and as the frantic passengers tried desperately to keep themselves afloat, it would only take a few minutes for the Matchless to disappear beneath the water.

Just over one-hundred yards away was Edward Gardner, a fisherman of Morecambe, who was also sailing his boat with seventeen passengers, taking the same route as that of Samuel on the Matchless.

Having just crossed over a junction in the channel and making headway towards Grange-over-Sands, Edward himself felt the gust of wind as it hit his boat. Looking over towards the direction of where the wind had originated from, he admitted to thinking to himself at a later inquest that the next breeze would be an ordinary breeze and did not think about altering the course of his boat.

He would later go on to mention that the wind was more akin to that of being like a whirlwind, first crashing along one side before rounding his boat and hitting it head-on the opposite side.

However, whilst he had managed to control his boat, he would see the Matchless pitching over and disappearing into the sea. Instinctively, he turned his boat around to make haste towards the panic-stricken passengers in the water.

In total he helped to recover six passengers who were alive and one, unfortunately who had died.

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