Tha lon ot viSllaft andth€ Tenpence Pld ona Tnoffi[et $mrm ol23d ilouember185I. mhssolfro flsnhg[otlt 'Ugllentr' aLt "fonDonG:0" (ill..stotm of 23d ovrmbq 1157 O Johncrawlod Th€ Theloss ofVigilant and theTenpence Foreword I havehad an interestin the seasince I joinedthe RoyalNavy in the eartysixties for a nine yearcontract of service;the interestin the fisher_folkof the Moraycoast came much tater when I startedto researchthe ancestryof my wife Janisllair. Her folks camefrom Portknockie;her dad wittiam Mair'shy' was a fine manand a goodfriend. My ownfamity were rooted in the coalfields of CentraLScottand and I hadfor a longtime consideredthat job asone of the mostdangerous environments in whichto work Manyof my ancestorswere kiLLed or iniureddeep underground. I wa! the tastmember of my family to haveworked underground in a coatmine. Thath saidwith somesadnels that is moreto do with the disappearanceof the mjningcommunities and att the goodthings that stoodfor, than it is with the demiseof an industrythat onceemptoyed thousands of men, women, boysand girts. whenI beganto tookat the tivesof fishermenand their familieslquickty reatised that here wasa far morehazardous way to earna living. I cameacross countless examples of fatheR, sons,brothers and yes, sometimes sisters and daughters- atl tost at seain the pursuitof fish,Others were lost in the two wortdwars in whichfishermen from the areaptayed a part by seMngin the drifterscommande€red by the Admirattyand sentto sweepbefore the fleet for the deadtymines. It wasa commonoccurrence for me to find simltaritiesbetween the tivesof fishermenand their famitiesand those of minersand their famities Bothhad to suffergreat hardship to fottowtheir destinies,the wivesdeating wjth tragediestime and time againin their llves. Thestoicism of the separatebreeds of peoplewith the conditjonsthey facedin their daity tiveswas an obvious common factor, Likemany peopte I tookit for grantedthat I put anotherlump of coaLon the fire or gointo a chipshop on a weekendnight and get a fish supper,not givingone thought for howit came to be beforeme wrappedin paperand maklng my mouthwater. Needtessto sayI nowappreciate iust howthe filh got thereand how many tives have been lostin gettingthat to meand my ancestors over the years. I have used contemporarynewspaper reports of the time to illustratejust what the fishermenwent throughon oneday when no lessthan FORTY_TWOwere lost to the seaon oneday. Thesevery descriptive reports assist the imaginationto understandiust whatthey all wentthrough on that terribleday. Wherepossible I have insertedthe censusrecord for 1851,some six yearsbefore the disastergiving information that somemight find usefuLand serving to corroboratesome of the atreadyknown facts about the deceasedand their famities. The(itler Stormol23- November1857 The lossofVigilant and theTenpence A wordof cautionwith censusrecords, they couLdsometimes be a bit of a hit andmiss as manyof the poorerpeopte could neither read nor write andsome may not haveknown their properage at the time. Mostteft school,if theyhad managed to get thereat all, at the age of 11 or 12 years. Manyof the younggirts did not get any schootingwhatsoever. The fishermenprided themselves on their questfor educationfor their familiesand they seemed to havemore education than most. Thecensus taker who went from houseto househad to rely on the informationhe wasgiven to comptetethe censusbook. Thiswas only the secondcensus undertaken in the area,the first havingbeen taken ten yearseartier in 1841. Thiscensus (1851) had more information onthe peoplebeing counted. The conclusionI have reached is that informatlonfrom censusrecords is not atwaysto be trusteda5 being compLetety accurate; there were too manyoppoftunities to makemistakes despitethe bestefforts of the enumeratoB. when I startedto compitethis recordof researchinto the terrible djsaster,my wife's cousin,Mary S Laingoffered her assistancein researchinga numberof the victlmsof the diaaaterand in proof-readingmy typedreports. I wasvery happy to receivethe offer and Maryhas not ontybeen lnvatuabte but hashad a maiorinput into this pieceof research. My thanksatso to MarjoryIngram, one of my neighbouG;when things get difficutt I know that I havea tenaciousresearcher just a few doorsaway, she has provided crucial back'up for someof the recordsthat haveproved difficutt. Thanksto my daughterJuLie who has provided a link to the GRoScentre in Edinburghand mayjust havebeen caught by the bugof geneatogicatresearch. Mythanks to att threefor their patienceand forbearance with me; I canbe difficuLtto work with at timesand can be a hardtaskmaster, Thispubtication fotlows the Evangelineand others are set to fottowthis, with the backing andsupport of the Buckie& DistrictFishing Heritage Centre Ltd whotook after the pastvrith a view to the future. All profitswitt go to this charitywhich is run by votonteers,many of whomare highlyskilled ex fishermen. Eachand everyone of them are worthy of our supportin their effortsto keepthe heritageof the areasafe for the generationsto fottow. JohnCrawford Buckie 1'toctob€r 2006. O Johncawrord The KilterStorm of 2l'd November1857 Theloss ofVigitant and theTenpence TheKiller storm of 23'oNovember 1857 "Thosethat godown to the seain ships" do not needto be totdthat it canbe a dangerous andtreacherous place to be in the twenty_firstcentury. In the middteof the nineteenth centuryit wasconceivably worse. Thefishermen who ventured out in smatlboats knew it wasa dangerousway to earna tivingbut theyknew of no otherway to feedand ctothe their families. Thedanger had to be faced,using their skittsto 'read' the v/eatherso that they couldmake an assessmentof how dangerous it \/ouldbe onceout at seaand far fromshore. The twenty-nineboats that went out to seato the fishinggrounds were openboats, wetl bui(t to withstandthe worstof seasusualty prevatent in winter. Eachboat of that targer classwoutd be mannedby up to ninefit andable crewnen; as indeed they needed to be' as theyheaded through the wavesin the deadof winter. The tife of fisher-fotkin the middteof the nineteenthcentury was not an easyone _ each day at seawas atwaysa risk for the gkilledfisherc from the Banffshirevittages scattered atongthe MorayFirth. 5oit wason Monday 23to November 1857. A t rribt*tonity h.t jtt?iti&d our .est tn oq latt, ||. r.l.t.d to th. gat. $lch.atu on ,u<l.hntv at noo ot ?h. p..vious .hy, and |.hi.h .onttnu..! ao Ng. whll. \|. w.r. tolng to p..tt. \4e ..cor.led th' ttrcndtns ol th. "Oph.t!o" .f Eanff at ttacdufl: and in a pottiq of Nt imp..*lon w. notic.'t a to$ of lile ..Dqt d fr6 Bucki.. Tha stom hds, ho''.v.t, b.4 Mh norc.ltsasarout in its.ffe.tt, and th' Io$ ol lil' hasb..n to',eahiry quit. Mpaftll.l..l. tt turhe dt thot th. ||hot. ddtus.lut beand6. up@ th. Eanffthir. .@tt. A ftotjttaof twenty-nineboats had gone out into the MorayFirth from manyof the ports from Buckiein the westto Banffin the east; Portknockiehad most of the fourteenlarge boats,each with a crew of nine, ctearingthe harbourin the early morninghours in the darknessand bitter cotd of a winter'smorn. They headedout in weatherwhich, at that time,seemed, by aLLaccounts, fairly common for the time of year. iiiii-*i"ter tat*c ta,g. an t e.rong, and, with nih. mtt .xP.tt s.an n in 4.h nothins but tha Mt .xtrao.diMry stras of wa.th.t .an baffl. thair hatdv navigotqs. Fr.qu.nrlv, hoe.v8, on wea|, 'tordav thrc. Nn werc tuqui..t at tha h.lm; and hod ony a..id.ht b.faufi it, t.n.han 4 to de tha boat wat obout, brca.lside on, an l swdip.d in the natt h.avy saa. Tha lage.r.ws neet all.onti^g.n in hNavet, q till f\itty overcffi by ston. fwo or thre. tak th.held, on. two boil Nt the tae thav shiP; uhit' two or thrce manoge th. sails, ther. b.ing still o r.s.rv. fot th. r..tifi.ation ot bollast' assieting to ste't wirh @rs, q \ny orh.r su.h like neessry duty. Th.s. fn.tids ||4. all rcquir..l under th' Iate gole, dn" it wds only by th. d.tiv. ahd Mt Nnly difulturg. of th.m thdt th. sad .olaniti.s were rntti't'd ta th'tr d.t@l .ti/r|miqs,ldrge thdgh thse b"."' nll.r G.nrheRmra.hn lou'rirl litsdir I De.fmlr.r1Ai7 TheKiller Storm of 2l'November1857 Thetoss of Vigitantand theTenpence Notatt the vittageshad boats out. Portessiefor exampte,had none _ the reasonfor that was that manyof the fishermenfrom that vittagehad barometers and placed great store in the powersof the 'Glass'to tell them what was happeningon the weatherfront. As they preparedto teaveharbour that morningmany had noticedthat the glasshad taken a downwardsdive and that coutdonly mean one thing, bad weather, realty bad weather, was imminent.They took the decisionto stayat homethat day. In hindsightit is a greatpity that the barometerswere not aswett thought of or aswjdespread at that time in the other fishingcommunities atong the coast. 'Th. lishano aa Pqtlrbcki. a.. e.ll knryn lq th.ir I'flustry and daring. Beki..x.ePt.d, Poraknqtti. it ttu Mt .xt.nslv. wina.r lithing ttati@ ln th. t oray Firth On Aondoy tuming, b.tw..n awo on.l th... o'.lek, th. whole lt..? ol totq. bett b.l.rglng ao tha vitldsa, f@tt .n ln nmb.t, with nirc men in .o.h, [email protected].'mg?holthe||in!ottlptalng||ossPoknofbyth.Por*nekiennasa"fin h..!", b4or. ||h;.h .h.y had an ax..tt't tM, with both tall. up, atlt ?heyrco.h.d th. lirtins trou&, an t to littl. dt.l th.y thlnk ot th. tlitht s||.t!, that ?hey e.nt latth.t out, d'n lo.th.t .asr' than th.v a.. a.cuttom..l ao do ln win?t, unlEt wh.n ah. w.o.hx it .rc..dinsly llne d'n s.ttt..l, Th.v |..t., ||h.n fut.hFt Nt, dght ofi Ad{l atd Pot.toy, and 25 to 30 n 3 oll thot.