Robin Rendell's Atherfield Ledge

An original song by Robin J Rendell (c) My wife and I were born on the Isle of Wight, an island off the south coast of England. My wife’s maiden name is Cotton and the men referred to below are among her direct ancestors. So many of the family crewed one lifeboat that it became known as the Cotton Boat. Many of the family were awarded medals for gallantry. This song is dedicated to them.

The SS Sirenia under the command of Captain MacIntyre, was out of San Francisco, via Cape Horn bound for Dunkirk with 25 crew as well as the Captain, his wife, their 3 children and their woman servant.
The Sirenia was a three masted, full rigged ship with a strong iron and steel hull, weight 1,588 tons.

On the afternoon of March 9th 1888 she ran aground under full sail in a dense fog and surprisingly heavy sea.

The alarm was raised by Harry Cotton who was walking along the shore. Harry was the son of Rufus Cotton, who immediately alerted the rest of the Brighstone Lifeboat crew. The Worcester Cadet, with Coxswain Moses Munt, launched soon after 4pm into a heavy sea. After an hour, children and the two women were taken to shore. Munt agreed with McIntyre to return for the crew at low tide, it being very dangerous to land a full boat at high tide in such a swell.

Back at Atherfield, Munt decided there was no time to lose and launched at low water, just after midnight. The Worcester Cadet reached the Sirenia, sometimes level with the rail, sometimes twenty feet below. Thirteen men were ready to be taken off, and all eventually managed to jump in or slide down ropes. Just when the lifeboat cast off, a huge wave, bigger than any before, lifted its bow almost to the vertical. Men fell towards the stern, crashing on to Munt. That wave having passed, the boat was broadside to the next, which capsized it, throwing men into the water. 22 of the 26 men scrambled back on board after the lifeboat righted but two of the Sirenia crew along with Moses Munt and Thomas Cotton (2nd Cox) were missing and drowned.

Taken from the book ‘Back of the Wight – Ships’ Graveyard'