View source for Scillonian (1925)

{{about|the Isles of Scilly passenger ferry which operated until 1956|the ship currently in use|Scillonian III}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
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|Ship name=Scillonian
|Ship owner=[[Isles of Scilly Steamship Company]]
|Ship operator=[[Isles of Scilly Steamship Company]]
|Ship registry={{flag|United Kingdom|civil}}
|Ship route= [[Penzance]] to the [[Isles of Scilly]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Ailsa Shipbuilding Company]] Ltd, [[Troon]]
|Ship original cost=£24,500
|Ship yard number=396
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|Ship launched=17 November 1925
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|Ship acquired=
|Ship maiden voyage=25 January 1926
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=1956
|Ship fate=Broken up in Ghent
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|Ship tonnage={{GRT|429|disp=long}}
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|Ship length=170.7ft
|Ship beam=28.7ft
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|Ship draught=10.5ft
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'''RMV ''Scillonian''''' was a passenger ferry built for the [[Isles of Scilly Steamship Company]] in 1925 by the [[Ailsa Shipbuilding Company]] Ltd of [[Troon]], [[Scotland]]. She was designed to carry 400 passengers and cargo between [[Penzance]], [[Cornwall]], [[UK]], to the offshore [[Isles of Scilly]].

Formed on 26 March 1920, the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company initially operated services with the ''[[HMS Argus (1904)|Peninnis]]'' (ex-''HMS Argus''), but it had soon become clear that a purpose-built, new steamer was required.<ref name="islander"/> During 1924 the directors of the Steamship Company began considering the purchase of a larger ship and at an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders on 16 June 1925, the Directors were empowered to place the order with Ailsa Shipbuilding Company Ltd. In order to keep their yard open during the economic slump, this work was undertaken at cost, the contract price was £24,500 (equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|24500|1925|{{Inflation-year|UK}}|r=-4}}}} as of {{Inflation-year|UK}}).{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}

The new ferry was launched on 17 November 1925 and named ''Scillonian''  by Mrs. A. A. Dorrien-Smith of [[Tresco Abbey]].<ref name="backinservice">"Scillonian III Back in Service after £1,700,000 Refit" in [http://www.scillyonline.co.uk/sutd/120/index.html ''Scilly up to Date'', issue 120 (April 1999)], accessed 2011-08-16</ref> The ship completed her maiden voyage from [[Troon]] at 11 pm on 25 January 1926 and docked at [[St Mary's, Isles of Scilly|St Mary's]]. She made her first time-tabled, commercial trip on Thursday 2 February 1926 from St. Mary's to Penzance. It took her three and a quarter hours.<ref name="islander">"RMS Scillonian III - Take a look above and below decks on the islands' beloved steamer" in [http://www.islesofscillyholidays.co.uk/index.php?option=com_docman&Itemid=109&lang=en?option=com_docman&Itemid=109 ''The Islander -  Life on the Isles of Scilly''] (Spring 2009), pp. 30-34</ref>

At 429 gross register tons she was considered, by some, as too big and unsuitable for local seas (the same happened when the [[Scillonian (1955)|second ''Scillonian'']] went into service in 1956 and again with ''[[Scillonian III]]'' in 1977).<ref name="backinservice"/> However she proved to be a tremendous improvement and became popular over the years.<ref name="backinservice"/>

==War service==
The ''Scillonian'' served the Isles of Scilly in almost continual service for over 29 years, including the [[World War II|war years of 1939-1945]], with 40,000 troop movements being recorded.<ref name="backinservice"/> She operated mainly from [[Newlyn]], when shipping troops, and carried [[Degaussing| degaussing gear]] as protection against magnetic mines. Her route out of Newlyn was to creep close to the shore, even between [[St Clement's Isle]] and [[Mousehole]], to avoid setting off acoustic mines.<ref>{{cite book|last=Carter|first=C.|title=The Port of Penzance: a history|year=1998|publisher=Black Dwarf Publications|location=Lydney}}</ref> On 12 August 1943 one of the St Mary's based [[Hawker Hurricane|Hurricane]] aircraft crashed into her masts, killing the pilot.

== 1951 Shipwreck ==
In thick fog on 10 September 1951 the Scillonian was on her usual journey to St Mary's. Visibility that day was described by the lifeboat secretary, Trevellick Moyle as "I don’t think I have ever seen it thicker". The ship did not have radar and the captain, in poor visibility, often found his bearings by listening for the bell buoy of the Spanish Ledge, or the bugle of Vic Trenwith who would play on [[Peninnis Head]]. The captain heard neither and the Scillonian continued westward and hit the Great Wingletang Ledge on [[St Agnes, Isles of Scilly|St Agnes]]. The fog lifted later that day to find the ship between two rocks and her bow in the air. Nine hours later, at 11 pm, she was refloated by the tide together with her own engines and a line from the lifeboat, and made her way to the harbour. The next day patched with cement and acetylene welding she was cleared by the Board of Trade as seaworthy to make the return journey to the mainland.<ref>{{cite news|last=Mumford|first=Clive|title=Calamity for islands' vital vessel|newspaper=Cornishman|date=8 September 2011}}</ref>

==References==
{{Portal|Cornwall}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Isles of Scilly}}
{{1951 shipwrecks}}

[[Category:Ferries of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Water transport in Cornwall]]
[[Category:Transport in the Isles of Scilly]]
[[Category:1925 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1951]]