The EDITH OWEN, a two
masted schooner rigged steamship, was built in 1864 at Millington Quay
in Northumberland and was powered by two engines which combined to
give eighty horse power.
On the morning of the 27th of
January 1879 with her five passengers, sixteen crew and a general
cargo, she rounded the Skerries and headed due East on the final leg
into Liverpool. In theory the timing was perfect. Leaving the Skerries
at low water, she would have the benefit of the flood tide to assist
her on the final part of her voyage, arriving in the Mersey shortly
before high water. But that was to be her downfall. A quarter of an
hour later, in clear weather and with a calm sea, she was stranded on
Coal Rock, a treacherous rock that is normally submerged. |