Mona's Isle was a wooden paddle-steamer designed and built by John Wood & Co., Glasgow. She had no official yard number. Mona's Isle was launched by James Wood on Wednesday, 30 June 1830.[1] She had a registered tonnage of 200GRT; length 116ft 0in (35.4m); beam 19ft 0in (5.8m); depth 10ft 0in (3.0m); speed 8.5 knots (15.7km/h; 9.8mph).
Side Lever Napier Engine as fitted to Mona's Isle
Her engine and boiler were by Robert Napier & Co., Glasgow, and attracted considerable attention as Napier's work was considered to be very advanced for its day. The boiler produced a steam pressure of 15 pounds per square inch (100kPa), and the engine was one of the earliest examples of the side-lever type. It was really the familiar beam engine of the time, adapted for marine use.
Mona's Isle had bunker capacity for 35 tons of coal.
This design of side-lever engine became the most popular type of engine for marine purposes, and was adapted for use in oceangoing vessels until 1850.
Appearance
Considered both fast and handsome, Mona's Isle was schooner rigged with a standing bowsprit. She was square sterned, carvel built, carried a female figurehead and her Mainmast stood at 70 feet (21m).
She had a tall funnel amidships (standing at 56 feet (17m) with a circumference of 12 feet (3.7m)),[2] and the Three Legs of Man was displayed on her paddle boxes. A further design feature, was her long bowsprit and clipper bow.[3]
Service life
Unlike previous ships which served the Isle of Man, Mona's Isle was not constructed primarily to carry cargo,[4] and was very well appointed for the carriage of passengers.
Under the command of Capt. William Gill, Mona's Isle entered service with the Company upon her completion in 1830, and quickly established the Manx company's superiority over the rival St George Company, whose ships Prince Llewelyn and St David were much despised by the Manx public.[5]
The Mona's Isle, as opposed to the St. George Company's ships, had been designed to shelter passengers, and had spacious and comfortable cabins.
Mona's Isle arrived in Douglas on Saturday 14 August 1830, and was christened by Mrs. J. C. Crellin.[6] Her arrival was celebrated by the Manks Advertiser in which she was described thus:-
"As beautiful a vessel as ever appeared in this part. Her accommodations are, if possible, more than equal to her appearance."
Mona's Isle was used for a variety of work. Her first trip was to the Menai Bridge on 15 August; a week later she ran an excursion to Bangor, North Wales; advertised as:-
" The Mona's Isle will sail with passengers at 9 a.m. returning the following day at 2 p.m. Fare £1 return."
The major task of Mona's Isle however, was to open the Liverpool - Douglas service for the Steam Packet Company, and to beat the opposition. On Monday 16 August Mona's Isle sailed for Liverpool. The Sophia Jane under the command of Lieutenant Tudor, R.N., sailed at the same time and reached Liverpool one and a half minutes ahead.[10]
On Wednesday 18 August a similar race took place back to Douglas with a similar result.[11] But on Friday 20 August, returning from Liverpool, Mona's Isle came in 40 minutes ahead.[12] The pattern was established and Sophia Jane was regularly beaten, on one occasion in a gale, by over three hours.[13]
The early defeats were probably caused by the fact that Mona's Isle's new engine took time to run in and full speed was not attainable at first. Mona's Isle, however, had proved herself capable of travelling between Liverpool and Douglas in eight hours at a speed of 8.5 knots (15.7km/h; 9.8mph).[14]
The St. George Company engaged in a price-cutting war, and in September withdrew the Sophia Jane and replaced her with their largest and fastest steamer, the St. George. However, Mona's Isle won the first race largely because of the astuteness of Capt. Gill. Seeing a south-westerlygale developing, he had the coal and cargo moved to the windward side of the vessel, to prevent the windward paddle lifting out of the water.
By October 1830, Mona's Isle had established herself as the principal steamer between Liverpool and Douglas.
A letter to the Editor of the Liverpool Mercury stated:-
"Your impartiality in giving insertion to correct communications has induced me to forward you a few particulars respecting the interesting opposition at present existing in steam navigation with the Isle of Man. The triumphant result of the competition between the Mona's Isle and the Sophia Jane is pretty well known and needs no remark, which induced the St. George Company to try their last resource by placing the St. George on the station, confident that (although the Sophia Jane was beaten) the St. George could not share a similar fate.On Wednesday last the Mona's Isle and the St. George were opposed to each other in their passage from this port, and the Mona's Isle performed the distance in a shorter time, but it was on Friday that their safety was put to the test. On that day they left here together, about 11 o'clock a.m., the wind blowing right ahead and approaching to a storm, which continued to increase during the day. At 4 p.m. the hull and smoke of the St. George were left out of sight. The Mona's Isle arrived in Douglas a few minutes before one o'clock on Saturday, and the St. George not until nearly seven, being a difference of six hours in favour of the Manx boat. This is certainly the most surprising feat ever performed in steam navigation, particularly when the hitherto unrivalled character of the St. George is taken into consideration, and also the tempestuous state of the weather during the passage."
The Directors of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company were becoming increasingly concerned about using Mona's Isle for winter service, and as a consequence a second vessel joined the fleet, the Mona, which commenced service in 1832; initially serving Whitehaven, and then taking over the service to Liverpool in October.[19]
In 1834 the fleet was augmented by the larger and more powerful Queen of the Isle. Captain Gill transferred to take command of the new ship, being replaced in command of the Mona's Isle in turn by Captain Edward Quayle who prior to his transfer had been in command of the Mona.
On 26 July 1839, Mona's Isle rescued the crew of Nancy, which was wrecked on the Pollock Rocks, in Douglas Bay.[20] Quayle was awarded a silver medal by Lloyd's of London for his actions.[21]
In 1842 Mona's Isle opened a service between Douglas and Fleetwood.
Mona's Isle returned to Robert Napier & Co. to be re-boilered in 1846 at a cost of £500.
Disposal
Attempts to sell Mona's Isle commenced in 1837, however such efforts to sell her failed. After 21 years service, Mona's Isle was sold to Robert Napier in 1851. She was sold for breaking at a cost of £580.
Trivia
Mona's Isle Ship's Bell.Commemorative jug of Mona's Isle (1830)
Such was the popularity of Mona's Isle, that jugs of what was called "Liverpool transfer Ware," were made, bearing a likeness of the ship, and with the legend; "Success to the Mona's Isle."[23]
Capt. William Gill was renowned for his seamanship, and is of particular note, as he was the first person to chart a safe, navigable channel through the (then) treacherous River Mersey. This navigable route became known as the Victoria Channel.[24]
St Mary's Isle is a partially submerged reef in Douglas Bay on the Isle of Man. Prior to 1832 the rock was the property of the Quane family until John Quane, Attorney General of the Isle of Man, presented the rock to Sir William Hillary, in his capacity as President of the Isle of Man District of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution to build the Tower of Refuge. Since then the custody of St Mary's Isle has been held by each president of the local lifeboat association.
The MV Manx Viking / Nindawayma was a passenger, truck and car ferry, whose last active service was on Lake Huron, operated by the Owen Sound Transportation Company; under contract to the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. In Canadian service she served the Highway 6 route between Tobermory and South Baymouth, Manitoulin Island from 1989 to 1992 alongside the MS Chi-Cheemaun.
The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Limited is the oldest continuously operating passenger shipping company in the world, having been founded in 1830.
The Tower of Refuge is a stone-built castellated structure which was erected on St Mary's Isle in Douglas Bay, Isle of Man, in order to afford shelter to mariners wrecked on the rock. The tower was constructed through the endeavours of Sir William Hillary, who had been instrumental in several rescues of sailors stranded on the rock, and which culminated in the heroic rescue of the crew of the Saint George Steam Packet Company steamer RMS St George, when it foundered on the rock in the early hours of November 20, 1830. Sir William personally contributed a high proportion of the costs and secured a substantial number of public contributions for funding the structure.
SS (RMS) Ellan Vannin was built as an iron paddle steamer in 1860 at Meadowside, Glasgow for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. She was originally named Mona's Isle - the second ship in the company's history to be so named. She served for 23 years under that name before being rebuilt, re-engined and renamed in 1883. As Ellan Vannin she served for a further 26 years before being lost in a storm on 3 December 1909 in Liverpool Bay.
Turbine Steam Ship (RMS) Manxman was a passenger ferry launched from the Cammell Laird shipyard, Birkenhead, on 8 February 1955. She was the final vessel in a class of six similar ships, the Six Sisters, ordered by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, and was the second of the Company's ships to carry this name. She was withdrawn from service in 1982. Following a failed preservation attempt, and featuring in a music video in the process, the ship was broken up at Sunderland in 2012.
TSS Manxman was a turbine steamship launched in 1904 for the Midland Railway and operated between Heysham and Douglas, Isle of Man. In 1916, she was commissioned by the Royal Navy as HMS Manxman and saw action as a seaplane carrier during the First World War, after which she was acquired by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. On the outbreak of the Second World War she was again requisitioned as a troop ship, until she was commissioned and her name changed to HMS Caduceus. She never returned to Manx waters, and was scrapped in August 1949.
TSS (RMS) Manx Maid (II) was built by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead in 1962, and was the second ship in the Company's history to bear the name.
MV (RMS) Mona's Queen (V) Official No. 307621 was a car-ferry built in 1971–72 for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. From 1972 to 1990, she operated to and from Douglas, Isle of Man. After a lengthy lay-up, she was sold in 1995, renamed Mary the Queen and operated as a ferry in south-east Asia, mainly sailing between Manila and Boracay. She was sold to Indian shipbreakers and beached in 2008.
MV Peveril was a coastal cargo vessel operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. Peveril, the third ship in the company's history to bear the name, was built by Ailsa Shipbuilding Company at Troon, Scotland, in 1964.
SS (RMS) Tynwald (III), No. 95755, was an iron passenger steamer which served with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, and was the third vessel in the Company to bear the name.
SS (RMS) Queen of the Isle was a paddle steamer which was constructed by Robert Napier & Co. Glasgow. No Official number is recorded for the vessel, as formal registration was not introduced until the Merchant Shipping Act 1854.
PS (RMS) Prince of Wales No. 93381 was a steel built paddle steamer which was purchased together with her sister PS Queen Victoria, by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company from the Isle of Man, Liverpool and Manchester Steamship Company in 1888 - referred to as The Manx Line.
PS (RMS) Queen Victoria No. 93379 was a steel built paddle steamer which was purchased together with her sister PS Prince of Wales, by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company from the Isle of Man, Liverpool and Manchester Steamship Company in 1888 - referred to as The Manx Line.
SS Conister (I) No. 145470 – the first vessel in the company's history to bear the name – was a coastal cargo vessel which was purchased by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company from Cheviot Coasters Ltd, in 1932.
SS Mona (II) No.124188 was a steel built packet steamer which was originally named the SS Hazel, and was operated by the Laird Line from 1907 to 1919. She was purchased by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company in 1919 as replacement for wartime losses. She was the second vessel in the history of the Steam Packet Company to be named Mona.
SS (RMS) Mona (III), the third ship of the Company to bear the name, was a steel paddle-steamer which was originally owned and operated by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway Company, who then sold her to the Liverpool and Douglas Steamship Company, from whose liquidators she was acquired by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company in 1903.
William Gill was a Manx merchant navy officer who served as commanding officer of numerous Isle of Man Steam Packet Company vessels. Gill was the first recognised captain of the line, retiring with the rank of Commodore.
The St George Steam Packet Company – also referred to as the Liverpool and Isle of Man Steam Packet Company or the St George Steamship Company – was a privately owned maritime transportation company incorporated in 1821. In the early 1840s the business was acquired by the Cork Steamship Company.
MVManxman is a new-build Ro-pax ferry which entered service with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company (IoMSPCo) on 17 August, 2023.
References
↑ Ships of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company (Fred Henry, 1977) p.7
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