This Finnish Brig ran ashore at Ham in the early hours of the morning of 23 September 1856. Strong gales took her masts and the rock pounded a hole in her bow. The crew gathered in the stern but one after the other the sea plucked them overboard.
Local people gathered on the cliffs but could do nothing for three hours until the surf abated. Donald Thompson a Scarskerry fisherman rowed with four companions in a yole to save whom they could, the one mile from the pier to the wreck taking half an hour. They rescued two survivors still clinging to the wreck and rowed for home taking an hour and a half against the ebb tide.
The five men were awarded a medal and money by the Board of Trade and a Coastguard who saw the incident was amazed that any boat could have survived the heavy sea especially as at times the yole was completely lost to view.
Local people gathered on the cliffs but could do nothing for three hours until the surf abated. Donald Thompson a Scarskerry fisherman rowed with four companions in a yole to save whom they could, the one mile from the pier to the wreck taking half an hour. They rescued two survivors still clinging to the wreck and rowed for home taking an hour and a half against the ebb tide.
The five men were awarded a medal and money by the Board of Trade and a Coastguard who saw the incident was amazed that any boat could have survived the heavy sea especially as at times the yole was completely lost to view.