Swainby (1888) - a general history

Shields Daily Gazette, Saturday, January 6^th, 1900:
WRECKAGE SIGHTED A HARTLEPOOL STEAMER. Baltimore, Dec. 23. Captain Galbraith, of the Hartlepool steamer Swainby, from Rio Marina, reports sighting on November 28, in latitude 42' and longitude 7’, a  white boat with yellow gunwales. It was bottom up. The Swainby was stopped and the boat brought alongside and hoisted on board.
On the stern was “Alesia, Marseilles," on port bow “No. 6," and on starboard bow "371-8-37." Captain Galbraith was sure when the boat was capsized that it was under sail, as the broken step of mast was through one of the thwarts and part of rigging was on the gunwale. The presence of sharks and pilot fish in the boat when it was righted was suggestive of there having been living beings in the boat when capsized. As embryo shellfish and seagrass were on the boat it was supposed to have been in the water for at least two weeks. There is a large steamer named the Alesia hailing from Marseilles, but she is not recorded in the movements of vessels in the United States and British records of shipping.
Captain Galbraith was here three years ago in command of the British steamer Wave. Captain Whalley, who has been in command of the Swainby, has been detained home by illness. He is expected to take command of a new steamer now being built by the Ropners, of West Hartlepool.

Exeter and Plyumouth Gazette, October 6^th, 1904:
LOSS OF A GREEK STEAMER. Seventeen of the Crew Drowned. Lloyd's Oporto agent telegraphs:- Greek steamer Clementine (not Kelmentinis, before reported), bound to Antwerp, grain, reported to have foundered at sea 25 miles northwest of Ushant. Seventeen of crew drowned, including all officers. Eight of crew picked up by British steamer Augustine and landed at Leixoes.

Derby Daily Telegraph, Thursday, December 15^th, 1904:
The second letter is in a different vein. It describes the wreck of a Greek steamer in the Bay of Biscay, and the part he [one Mr. Smith], played in the task attempting to rescue the crew. He says: "We had just left Havre and got well into the Bay Biscay, when we sighted large steamer flying signals of distress. There was a terrible sea running at the time, but the captain told the chief officer if he could get any volunteers to man the lifeboat he might see if he could do any good. Eight volunteers were asked for, but only six responded to the call. This, by the way, is not remarkable when you consider the chances were six to one they would not come back. Anyhow the rest of us put off, got within a few yards of the ship, told them put their life belts on and jump over. They either could not understand this, or were too frightened to carry it out. We hung around about three hours, and having had four oars broken by the big seas, the life-boat became unmanageable, and we had to return.
When got back, we saw she could not last long. She heeled over, turned bottom up, and sank in a couple of minutes. The chief officer, boatswain, myself, and another quartermaster jumped into the life-boat, also one of our saloon passengers, Captain Petersen, but we could not get the boat clear of the ship's side. She gradually drifted down to our propeller. Another second, and it would have cut the boat and the rest of us into pieces, but the second officer ran in and telegraphed to the engine room to stop the engines. Just after that I got washed clean out of the boat; my luck, of course. I was the only one in the boat that had no life belt on. Captain Petersen threw an oar to me. That too could not do without striking me over the nose and knocking a lump out.
Anyhow we managed to save nine of them. There must have been a good few drowned. Even when we sighted her they had tried to launch a boat, but she had got broke up and all in her drowned. She proved to be the Greek steamer Clementine, from the Black Sea to Antwerp. They were all Greeks we saved… There was a great fuss made afterwards of the boat's crew. The passengers made a collection for us. It ran to £3 10s. apiece. The Humane Society presented the Captain with a gold medal, the chief officer with binocular glasses, and they gave us £2 apiece.”

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