Dungarvan Observer 15th February 1919
Wreck of the KINCORA
Between the hours of 3 and 4 on Monday morning the
“Kincora” , a small sailing vessel, of a registered tonnage of 44 tons, and
owned by Messrs Beatty and Craig, Cardiff, was wrecked on the Cunnigar sands ,
a short distance from the town of Dungarvan.
She carried a crew of three, including the Captain.
The schooner left Cardiff
on the 5th February bound for Brest with a cargo of coals. Shortly after leaving port and when in sight
of Trevese Head a violent storm sprung up, which carried away her sails,
damaged her steering gear, and left the small ship completely at the mercy of
the waves. This was on the 6th. For the greater part of three days the vessel
tossed about in the water, and only struck land after having drifted a distance
of over 170 miles. To make matters worse
she had sprung a leak, her cabin and hold were filling with water, and she was
on the point of foundering. Owing to the compass bearing broken, the Captain
had no means of finding his bearings… They had to subsist on the ships biscuits
and remain on deck all the time. When
the schooner struck the sands, they managed to launch their boat, and by means
of this were able to gain the Cunnigar, where they remained until 7 o’clock on
n Monday morning, when they were conveyed to Dungarvan in one of the ferry
boats. Here all their wants were looked after by Mr. Thomas Cooke, local agent
for the Shipwrecked Mariners Association. The names of the crew are: - Captain
Smith, Carl Odguard and Bjarne Berg Jensen.
All three of them are quite young, and seen after their occurrence
certainly did not look much the worse for their trying experience. They all, however, admitted that it was the
worst they had been through, although the Captain had been twice torpedoed and
Carl Odguard wrecked on six different occasions. Through the courtesy of Mrs and Mr French,
Main Street: our reporter was successful in obtaining an interview with the
Captain who noted” we signalled to some passing steamers to come to our
assistance, but our signals were not responded to”. Coming into Dungarvan harbour he said that
they signalled the coastguard but received no answer. “At one time I thought – all was over and was
ready to jump and swim for my life”. The
reporter noted that the boat had become a “total wreck”.