The trawler Dauntless arrived in Aberdeen about 7pm on a Sunday night having on board the crew of the steam trawler Water Lily, whom she had picked up in an open boat about ten miles off Lybster. The Captain of the Dauntless, Mr. William Sharman, reports that about 7am on a Sunday morning, while he was fishing in the Moray Firth, he observed the Water Lily about two miles distant from the place where he was. He could at that distance of course, discern nothing that was happening on board the vessel and therefore thought little more of the matter at that time. About ½ hour after however, while he and his men were busily engaged with their gearing, they perceived a small speck on the sea, which at first sight appeared to them, to be some floating spar or piece of wreck. Their curiosity being aroused they scanned the horizon to see if they could detect anything connected with the small object in the distance. Nothing was to be seen and the Captain of the Dauntless ordered his men to make for the place where the object was situated. He now noticed that the Water Lily had strangely disappeared from sight and although he did not dread anything serious his increased curiosity led him to quicken the speed of his vessel. As the Dauntless approached the point she was steering for, her crew observed that the little object they had seen was a small boat and that it was filled with men, who were using every conceivable means to attract their attention. The crew of the Dauntless immediately made for the boat and picked up the men in it. These they found to be the crew of the Water Lily, which had foundered about ½ an hour before. The eight men had not had time to save any of their clothes or anything that was on the vessel. So fast did the vessel fill with water that after realising their danger, they had just time to lower their boat and jump into it, trusting to make the nearest land. This would have been no easy task for the wind was dead against them and the sea rather rough. They thus would likely have had to run some fifty miles in a southerly direction, before they could gain the land and during that course would, in the conditions in which they were placed, have been every moment in imminent danger of being swamped. It was therefore very fortunate that soon after the disaster happened to the Water Lily the crew of the vessel should have been sighted in their boat by the crew of the Dauntless.
What led to the foundering of the Water Lily is not very precisely known. One of the pipes connected with the engines appears to have been broken or burst and the water began to rush into the boiler room with tremendous force. The steam and the smoke poured out of the place in such volumes as to baffle all the efforts of the men to stem the inflow of water and stop the leak, so that after working ineffectually for some twenty minutes, the men had in all haste to betake themselves to the small boat. Twenty minutes thereafter they saw the Water Lily sink beneath the waves. The crew of the Dauntless although they must have observed the Water Lily shortly before she sank, did not see her disappear and as formerly indicated only became aware of her disappearance when their attention was aroused by the object, which they described in the distance.
The Water Lily was the property of Mr. William Wilson who was acting as Engineer on board the vessel at the time of the disaster. She was registered in North Shields but hailed from Aberdeen and had been fishing from that port for some considerable time. The trawler had left Aberdeen about a fortnight previous and since then had made a few calls at Fraserburgh. During her last week she had put into Stromness on account of stormy weather. She was commanded by Captain Dove and was said to be insured.
The Water Lily was built in 1883 and was 75 gross registered tons.
What led to the foundering of the Water Lily is not very precisely known. One of the pipes connected with the engines appears to have been broken or burst and the water began to rush into the boiler room with tremendous force. The steam and the smoke poured out of the place in such volumes as to baffle all the efforts of the men to stem the inflow of water and stop the leak, so that after working ineffectually for some twenty minutes, the men had in all haste to betake themselves to the small boat. Twenty minutes thereafter they saw the Water Lily sink beneath the waves. The crew of the Dauntless although they must have observed the Water Lily shortly before she sank, did not see her disappear and as formerly indicated only became aware of her disappearance when their attention was aroused by the object, which they described in the distance.
The Water Lily was the property of Mr. William Wilson who was acting as Engineer on board the vessel at the time of the disaster. She was registered in North Shields but hailed from Aberdeen and had been fishing from that port for some considerable time. The trawler had left Aberdeen about a fortnight previous and since then had made a few calls at Fraserburgh. During her last week she had put into Stromness on account of stormy weather. She was commanded by Captain Dove and was said to be insured.
The Water Lily was built in 1883 and was 75 gross registered tons.