Along the shoreline at Salen on the eastern side of the Isle of Mull lie the remains of several wooden fishing vessels that have become a recognisable landmark for travellers crossing the island. The boats sit in the tidal mud and gravel of Salen Bay beside the main road between Craignure and Tobermory. At low tide their hulls are visible while high tides partly cover the wreckage. The vessels did not succumb to storms or wartime action. Instead, a local man brought them to the bay as they retired from service to begin a restoration and salvage project. He never completed the work, so the boats have remained in place for years.
Elsie May
One of the most interesting histories belongs to the boat now known as Elsie May front left. John Watt & Sons of Banff built her in 1963. Throughout her working life, she carried several names and registrations, including Starosta BF300 and Sealgair WK123. In 1978 she was owned by Ewen L. Gibson of Kilmore on the Isle of Mull and registered as Wistaria OB327. She arrived at the Salen shoreline from Skye as the green hulled Mint BF300 and remnants of this name are still visible under layers of peeling paint on her hull. The authorities cancelled her fishing registry in 1994, and Richard Greeves of Salen took ownership of her by 2002. Her presence at Salen provides a physical record of the shifting names and roles that many Scottish fishing vessels undertook during the mid twentieth century.
Pavonia WK53
Sitting front left is the Pavonia WK53. Macduff Engineering Co Ltd built this wood motor seiner in 1955 for Skipper Donald Simpson of Thurso. She worked within the Wick fishing fleet for many years powered by a Gardner engine from Manchester. In 1974, Eric W. Picknett and others in Hartlepool took ownership of the vessel, where they converted her into a trawler. They later registered her as HL114 in 1979. After she served for a period as a sea angling boat, the authorities cancelled her fishing registry in 1984. Despite the harsh Atlantic weather the hull still stands as a testament to the wooden shipbuilding traditions of the northeast coast.
Girl Claire B8
The Girl Claire B8 sits at the very rear of the group. Tommy Summers & Co. originally built her in Fraserburgh in 1957 under the name Girl Wilma INS53. By 1969, David S. Stewart of Lossiemouth took over the vessel and renamed her Cairngorm. Her long career involved several registration changes, including stints as FD353 in Fleetwood and DO63 in Douglas during the late seventies. David Quinn eventually moved her to County Down in 1979 and registered her as Belfast B8 in 1988. Following the official cancellation of her registry in 1997, the hull finally settled into the Salen silt where she remains today.
Abandonment at Salen
Local history provides a clear account of how these vessels arrived at the bay. Richard Greeves acquired the boats for a restoration or salvage project but he never completed the work. He purchased both Pavonia and Girl Claire for a small sum, while he acquired Elsie May for free around 2002. As each boat reached the end of its working life, he brought them to Salen where they remained on the shoreline. Consequently, the vessels gradually settled into the tidal mud. Without maintenance the wooden hulls have deteriorated steadily under exposure to the weather.
A Recognised Landmark on Mull
Despite their gradual decay the boats have become a familiar visual landmark for visitors travelling across the Isle of Mull. Photographers often stop along the roadside overlooking Salen Bay to capture the hulls against the landscape of the Sound of Mull. The vessels serve as physical reminders of the mid twentieth century Scottish fishing industry and of the wooden boats that once supported coastal communities throughout the west Highlands and islands.
Official vessel timelines and historical data courtesy of Clyde Ships and Carol Perry (Daughter Richard Greeves)
Elsie May, Pavonia, Girl Claire.
