Wychwood

The English steamer Wychwood was built in 1950 by S.P. Austin & Son, Ltd., Sunderland, England, for Wm. France Fenwick & Company., Ltd., London. It was 302.5 feet in length, had a 45 foot beam and displaced 2,506 gross tons.

At 8:35 PM on August 11, 1955, while enroute from Walton, Nova Scotia, to Port of Spain, Trinidad, with a cargo of barytes, the Wychwood ran aground in 18 feet of water ten miles from Gibbs Hill Light. According to Lloyds Weekly Casualty Reports, the Wychwood was finally pulled off and re-floated by the United States Navy tug, Papago, and the Coast Guard cutter, Rockaway, on August 12th. At that time, the boat was leaking badly, but the pumps were handling the flooding without too much trouble. They started to tow the boat stern first because the rudder had been damaged towards St. Georges. On August 13th, the Wychwood was anchored at Five Fathom's Hole and abandoned due to the heavy weather from the approaching hurricane, Diane. The crew was transferred to the cutter, Rockaway. On August 14th, 11:50 AM, it was reported that the Wychwood sank in 50 to 60 feet of water after the pumps could no longer keep up with the influx of rushing sea water. Only the tips of the masts remained above the water.