SS Mount Ida

The SS "Mount Ida" was a merchant ship built in 1938 by William Hamilton & Co. Ltd of Glasgow. She had a three-cylinder triple-expansion engine which gave a service speed of around 10.5 knots. Originally called the "Arcscott", she was renamed "Mount Ida" after being bought by the Atlanticos Steam Ship Company Ltd, of Athens, Greece.

Last Voyage

In early October 1939 "Mount Ida", carrying a cargo of grain and timber, and with a crew of 29, left Vancouver, Canada, bound for the port of Leith, Scotland. On 9 October she had reached the North Sea and was close to the north -east coast of Norfolk. This is a particularly hazardous part of the North Sea, with many sand banks, on one of which "Mount Ida" ran aground.

Cromer lifeboat to the rescue

The alarm was given at 6:25 am, when the coastguard informed the coxswain of the Cromer lifeboat, Henry Blogg, that the "Mount Ida" had run aground and asked that the lifeboat be sent to assist her. Since the outbreak of World War II, lifeboats of the RNLI had been under the control of the naval authorities, and this was only the second rescue effort by the Cromer lifeboat under this arrangement.

The Cromer lifeboat "H F Bailey" was launched and set off towards Haisborough Sands, which is where Coxswain Blogg had been told the "Mount Ida" was aground. The lifeboat had been at sea for an hour when the coastguard informed Blogg by radio that the "Mount Ida" was not on Haisborough Sands but was grounded 19 miles further to the north-east, on Ower Bank.

The "H F Bailey" crossed Leman Bank and reached the "Mount Ida" around 12:30 pm. By this time the ship's starboard lifeboat had been carried away, she was listing heavily to starboard and lying head on to the seas, and her position offered no lee for the lifeboat to come alongside. The "H F Bailey" made an attempt to throw a line to the stricken vessel but was twice struck by the heavy seas and flung back. Coxswain Blogg made another attempt to come alongside, before deciding that it was too dangerous and that he would have to wait for the sea to slacken.

By 2:15 pm conditions had improved and Blogg, using the lifeboat's powerful engines with great skill, was able to maintain a steady position alongside the ship for over an hour, during which time all 29 crewmen were brought off successfully, though one suffered crushed legs when he hesitated to descend the rope ladder and was trapped between the lifeboat and the "Mount Ida"; he later died of his injuries in Cromer Hospital.

During the rescue, the lifeboat was continually flung against the hull of the "Mount Ida". Because the "H F Bailey" was badly damaged, Cromer’s no 2 lifeboat, "Harriot Dixon", was called out to bring the rescued men ashore. The "Harriot Dixon", too, was damaged as it was launched into heavy seas, but the rescue effort was successful.

The "Mount Ida" was never salvaged and slowly sank into the sands of Ower Bank. Her position was coord|53|10|44|N|1|55|46|E.

References

cite book
last = Jolly
first = Cyril
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = The Loss of the English Trader
publisher = Acorn Editions
date = 1981
location =
pages =
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = 0-906554-06-3

cite book
last = Jolly
first = Cyril
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Henry Blogg, the Greatest of the Lifeboatmen
publisher = Poppyland Publishing
date = 2002
location =
pages =
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = 0-946148-59-7

cite book
last = Leach
first = Nicholas
authorlink =
coauthors = Russell, Paul
title = Cromer Lifeboats 1804-2004
publisher = Tempus Publishing
date = 2004
location =
pages =
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = 0-7524-3197-8

cite book
last = Tikus
first = Ayer
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = The Ship-wrecks off North East Norfolk
publisher = Ayer Tikus Publications
date = 2004
location =
pages =
url =
doi =
id =
isbn =

External links

* [http://www.cromerlifeboats.org.uk/07/index.php The Cromer Lifeboat]
* [http://www.rnli.org.uk/rnli_near_you/east/stations/CromerNorfolk/ Cromer Lifeboat Station]
* [http://freespace.virgin.net/david.cragie/cromershed.html The Old Cromer Lifeboat Shed]
* [http://www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk/index.cfm/event/getVessel/vref/1446 H F Bailey Lifeboat]
* [http://www.cromerlifeboats.org.uk/Gallery/Imagegal/thumbnails.php?album=31 Lifeboat Museum Gallery]