George Colven was until a few years back the St. Abbs harbour master. He was only a 7 year old boy when the Alfred Erlandsen went up on the rocks. One hundred years ago, his Grandfathers words “there’s a ship ashore” soon had George and his grandfather running to the cliffs. There was a dense fog and the surf could be heard but not seen banging and crashing against the rocks. Strangely though, even though the sea was wild there was no wind and the night was still.

The stricken Alfred Erlandsen had run onto the treacherous Ebb Carrs Just 500 metres south east of the harbour at 8.30 p.m. on 17 October 1907. The ships steam whistle and intermittent shouts of men could be heard periodically above the noise of the surf. Then at 9pm the fog lifted temporarily giving the gathered villagers and George a fleeting glimpse of the horror that was unfolding less than half a mile away from shelter and safety. Now the telephone was used to call for help. A 3-pronged rescue plan was put into action. The Eyemouth and Skateraw lifeboats were launched, and a heavy horse drawn cart also thundered across the muddy road from Eyemouth to St. Abbs, carrying life saving apparatus. It arrived at Castle rock Villa which, was the nearest point of land to the wreck. The rescue party fired 6 rockets in all but none made it near the wreck. By now the tinkling of the ships bell and the sounding of the steam whistle had stopped, there were no more sounds from the crew. Now only the sound of shrieking metal, tearing on the rocks, vied with the sound of the crashing surf. It was at this time that George’s Grandfather told him “he better get in out of the cold”.

Launching at 10.30 the Eyemouth lifeboat arrived at the scene between 11pm and midnight The Sea was running high and the waves were breaking over the deck and funnel of the Alfred Erlandsen. The Eyemouth boat made a circuit of the wreck and this was extremely dangerous, as the ships cargo of pit props and timber was loose in the sea. There were no signs of life from the wreck and the Eyemouth boat returned to harbour at 2am. The Skateraw lifeboat was battling into the mountainous north east seas covering, the 20 miles to the wreck site and arriving on scene between 2 and 3 in the morning. The spilled cargo of timber was smashing against the lifeboats hull in a most dangerous fashion, but they stood to for an hour at the site. They did not retire from the wreck until permission was received from shore. Then the 15 man crew, 14 at the oars, made the run home on what would be an exhausting round trip of 10 hours in terrifying conditions.

The dawn saw the Alfred Erlandsen completely smashed on the rocks 3 bodies were found 2 men and a woman, who was the wife of the master mariner.

There was 1 survivor from the wreck though, and he was found guarding the body of a drowned sailor the next morning. A large dog (Great Dane), it was christened Carro after the Carr rocks and found a good home in St. Abbs.

St. Abbs at the time of the disaster was seeking a lifeboat of its own and whilst the incident did not immediately bring one into fruition it certainly added weight to the St. Abbs villagers argument for the very real need for their own lifeboat.

 

DIVING THE WRECK OF THE ALFRED ERLANDSEN

 

Diving the Ebb Carrs and the Alfred Erlandsen must be one of the most underrated dive sites at St. Abbs. Even though the site is only 500 metres from the harbour. Perhaps that is the reason and it’s just too close to shore to be taken as a serious dive, especially when the majestic headland and spectacular diving at St. Abbs head beckons. I cannot get over the point strongly enough that this site should not be missed, as it is spectacular in its marine life, the terrain of the site and of course all that interesting wreckage, that is the remains of the Alfred Erlandsen. There is even another wreck here called the Vigilant, which was a more modern fishing trawler. Ebb Carrs is a large pinnacle of rock rising from 15 metres and breaking the surface at low tide. This central pinnacle is surrounded by gullies and reefs

Peter Gibson skipper of the dive boat Selkie took me out to the wreck site. I dropped down straight into a scenic gully. The tides surge around these rocks and the marine life reflects this with dense coverings of dead men’s fingers and plumose anemones. Narrow kelp topped gullies sheltered vast schools of coalfish that eventually moved out of the way as I fined through their school. Groups of the biggest Ballan Wrasse I have ever seen were found here, one very large specimen had a hook and line attached to it. I would have liked to remove the hook but the fish stayed just out of reach. The cracks and crevices are filled with edible crabs and lobster and more and more velvet backed swimming crabs now seem to fill the holes. Like Pipefish they have experienced a population explosion over the last few years, perhaps due to the warming of our seas by climate change. Nudibranches are common and I also came across a lovely yarrels blenny. Seeing all this, I was already marking the site as a top dive, but when the tide pushed me gently into the next gully and the colourful remains of the Alfred Erlandsen were seen it was just amazing. Initially a large intact boiler sits in the middle of the gully, check out its holes and you will find Scorpion fish, squat lobsters and blennies all over it. Further up the gully winches and plates lye strewn over the seafloor, mooring bollards sit in the kelp. Rising up the gully all the time, I then came to my favourite part of the wreck a second boiler, this time ruptured so that all the inner piping can be seen. Its home to big pollack and Cod and totally covered in soft corals, it really is a lovely sight. This boiler sits on top of a ridge and here the gully restarts it’s decent to the sea floor. There are more broken plates and fittings here and a large winch guards the mouth of this gully. Around into the next gully is the large 4 bladed prop of the Alfred Erlandsen. This dive has got it all, beautiful scenic gully’s, with a shipwreck and masses of marine life. I would go as far as to say that this is a better dive than the Glanmire which is regarded as the main wreck site at St. Abbs. When you visit the area next check out Ebb Carrs and see what you think. I think the crew and the wreck of the Alfred Erlandsen have found a lovely resting-place.

Over the 100 years since the sinking, the gravestone and memorial to the crew has weathered away and the text is almost unintelligible. An Ad Hoc committee set up by Jack Laws (Secretary of the St.Abbs and Eyemouth voluntary Marine reserve), Bob Thomson and Rennie Weatherhead are hoping to raise funds to erect a granite slab as a new memorial to the crew.

If you are interested in donating you can do so via the – Alfred Erlandsen Memorial Fund, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Market Place, Eyemouth, TD14 5HE.

 

My Thanks to Peter Gibson Skipper of the Selkie, Who dropped me straight onto the site. Amanda of Scoutscroft for her posing skills, Bob Thomson for letting me see his pictures and read his historical letters regarding the sinking and Jack and Rennie for their help and information.

 

Mike Clark