Maritime record LWT 656 - Wreck of a british craft

1810 wreck of British craft which stranded on the Holm Sand at Lowestoft during a storm. Constructed of wood, she was a sailing vessel.
Status: Casualt

Was driven on the sands opposite the town, the crew taking to the rigging. The lifeboat was hauled down to the water, but the beachmen were unwilling to launch, even when twenty-five guineas were offered by some gentlemen who were present. They claimed that the danger was very great, and anyway they had not been paid for former services. The report of the incident published later in the Ipswich paper remarks: 'It is to be observed however that the best sailors were engaged at Corton'. (1)(2)

'Extract of a Letter from Lowestoft.

'On Saturday morning early a most tremendous gale visited our coast . . . On the sand opposite Lowestoft a vessel struck, and the crew were seen in the yards for a long time; the life boat was hauled down, but the sailors were unwilling to make any effort to approach the wreck.' (3)

Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss

Additional sources cited in Shipwreck Index of the British Isles:
SLL.p10-11