The Arctic Viking was built at Cochranes Shipbuilders of Selby in 1937 as the Arctic Pioneer.  She was one of three identical vessels her sister ships being, the Arctic Adventurer and the Arctic Explorer.    

     At the outbreak of war in 1939, the Arctic Viking was commandeered for work with the Royal Naval Patrol Service.   During the Second World war she was sunk by enemy action in May 1942 in English Channel.    She was later raised and in 1947 was rebuilt in West Hartlepool by William Gray and Company.   Throughout the whole of her career she was owned and operated by "Boyd Line Ltd" of HULL.

This photo shows the Arctic Viking with her new bridge and funnel superstructure after rebuild.

The day the Vikings Luck Ran Out.

     The Arctic Viking left Hull's St. Andrews Dock for what was to be her final trip on 27th September 1961.   She was under the command of Skipper Philip Garner who was an experienced seaman.   They were headed for the North Coast of Norway and had on board a crew of 20.   

     On 12th October 1961 the Boyd Line trawler 'Arctic Viking' departed the fishing grounds off the north coast of Norway to commence her return journey to Hull.    She had on board a reasonable catch of approximately 95 tons or 1500 kits of mainly bulk and shelf fish. 

     The Third Hand J. Kiel was put ashore at Hammerfest, in Norway with head injuries, received in an accident at sea. 

    In the early hours of 18th October 1961, as she was heading home she was passing Flamborough Head and there was nothing in the handling, trim or stability of the ship that caused any concern to the crew on watch.    Whilst steering a course of SSW with the wind blowing NNW the ship heeled over heavily to port and filled the port side of the deck with water. The ship had a heel of about 20 degrees until the water cleared through the scuppers. The ships speed was eased and corrective helm action was taken and the vessel cleared her self almost at once.  

    Between 0400hrs  and 0800hrs while steering S by W and the sea coming from a more northerly direction, the vessel lay over to port on one or two more occasions.   The skipper who was on watch on the bridge on these subsequent incidents eased the speed from full to half and pulled the ship into the wind 3 or 4 points.   On each occasion she cleared herself and steamed on quite normally as she was brought back onto her course of S by W.   

     Just before 0830hrs the skipper stopped the vessel for a few minutes to allow a pipe to be fixed which would allow sea water ballast to be pumped into one of the starboard fuel tanks to correct a slight list to port which the vessel had been carrying, and which was increasing as fuel was being used from the starboard tanks where all the remaining fuel was stored.   After this had been completed, the skipper rang for her on for full speed and brought the ship back to a course of S by W. 

     Moments afterwards, the Arctic Viking was battered by two large waves which hit just aft of the bridge, one after the other and the trawler took on a list and continued to heel over until she capsized.

The Story is told of Mountainous Waves

     David Cressey was at the wheel when the first wave hit.   "The trawler swung slowly off course and I brought her back"  he said.   Then a second, mountainous wave struck the Arctic Viking just aft of the bridge.  'She started to go over to port and shortly afterwards she failed to answer the helm at all'

     The skipper said he could see 'a tremendous amount of water which was coming from the port side all the time, and it was falling and falling more and more, and all the time it was doing this she was curling over.  I did not feel a lurch at all and our funnel and mast went in the water at once' he said.   The mate and one of the crew released the only collapsible raft we could get away.   Some of the crew got in but others hadn't a chance.   The mate and I jumped into the sea without lifejackets from the side of the bridge as the trawler was turning over.  I swam straight to the raft and was lucky to surface about 20 yards from it.   I Climbed aboard along with the mate.'

     Skipper Garner added that three men were down below in the cabin aft and another was in the foc'sle.   They were lost with along another member of the crew who was drowned before their eyes as he tried to escape from the sinking trawler.

     She took just two minutes to capsize after she was hit by those two mountain wave.   She remained afloat, albeit upside-down for some time.   The time was  around 0830hrs.   

Rescued by a Polish Lugger

     The survivors ordeal was not over yet.  The shipwrecked survivors could see the capsized trawler floating near them as they bobbed precariously on the open lifeboat in mountainous seas.  

     After about an hour of being adrift their distress rockets were spotted by the Polish Lugger Derkacz - commanded by Skipper Ryszard Sleska - which was dodging in the stormy weather. 

     Paying tribute to his rescuers, Skipper Garner said; "The Polish skipper showed magnificent seamanship.   The Derkacz seemed to be making straight for the dinghy and her bows came so near us that I thought she was going to sink us.   But when she was only a few yards away he swung his ship to starboard and our raft was bobbing alongside."    The survivors where hauled up from the raft one by one in spite of the mountainous seas.    When the last man had been hauled aboard the DERKACZ, a huge wave lifted the rubber life raft and deposited it on the forecastle of the Polish vessel.

     It was four hours before the rescue was completed and during that time they saw the final moments of the Arctic Viking.  At around 1230hrs the Arctic Viking lifted her bows into the air and she slipped beneath the waves for a second and final time.    The final resting place for the Arctic Viking and her five crew is approximately  54° 15' N  0° 10' E.

     Skipper Garner continued; "Once we were aboard, the Poles could not do enough for us.   They insisted on our taking their bunks and some of them actually slept on the deck so that we could rest.   And they brought out all their best shore-going gear and made us put on their clothes.

     The gale was still raging and the Derkacz had to heave to.   Because the Polish rescue ship was stranded in the middle of the storm, unable to risk turning and running for shelter, there was an agonizing delay for relatives in obtaining the information about survivors.    In fact, it was not until the DERKACZ entered the Humber almost two days after the tragedy that confirmation could be obtained of who had been saved - and who had been lost with the Arctic Viking

     Eventually, some of the less exhausted  of the Arctic Viking's crew persuaded their rescuers to let them give a hand while they took turns to sleep.    The DERKACZ carried a crew of 17 and found the extra 14 passengers made it a tight squeeze.

Safely home

The 158-ton Polish fishing vessel 'Derkacz', whose skipper and crew rescued the 'Arctic Viking's 14 survivors.    She fishes for herring from her home port of Stettin and at the time of the rescue had already been two months at sea.    Her catch is transferred together with that from other similar vessels to a mother ship.

     On Friday 20th October 1961, the Polish DERKACZ slowly made her way up the Humber, arriving at Hull around noon with her national flag flying at half mast from her stern.    The Derkacz  first anchored in the Humber off the Minerva Pier and then slowly steamed to a position off Riverside Quay where the pilot cutter A.J.E. Snowden went out to her and brought off the survivors in two trips of seven each.    They were all fit and well although still suffering from the effects of their ordeal.

     On the deck of the DERKACZ as she arrived, Mr Tom Boyd, DSO, chairman of the owning company and of the Hull Fishing Vessel Owners' Association, paid tribute to the rescuers.    To the rescued men he said; 

"These Polish fishermen have extended to you the brotherhood of the sea.  It is a pity that the politicians of the world cannot get hold of the same brotherhood"

Mr T.W. Boyd, DSO., chairman Boyd Line Ltd., standing on the deck of the Polish fishing vessel 'Derkacz', calls for three cheers from the survivors of the lost 'Arctic Viking' for their rescuers, the skipper and crew of the Polish ship.

     At Mr. Boyd's request all present stood for a minute in silence in tribute to the dead.   Mr. Boyd, then turned to the Poles;    "On behalf of the Boyd Line, I want to thank you for saving the lives of these men".    He then presented Skipper Ryszard Sleska of the DERKACZ with a pair of binoculars and called for three cheers for the Polish skipper and his men.   His final word to the Polish was; "You and your crew are damned fine fellows".

     The Poles spoke little English, but the interviews were helped out by a Fleetwood trawlerman, Joe Dobson, who was of Polish birth and who gave up a slice of his shore leave between trips to act as interpreter.

     The skipper and other officers were given a civic reception at Hull Guildhall on Saturday 21st October when the Lord Mayor presented Skipper Sleska with a plaque bearing the city's coat-of-arms and a gift for his wife.

     Mr. Boyd in turn presented the skipper and mate of the DERKACZ with gold watches and every member of the Polish crew received a silver cigarette case.

Skipper, Mate and  Helmsman of the lost 'Arctic Viking' face the television cameras after landing at Hull.    
Left to Right:  Helmsman David Cressey, Skipper Phil Garner, and Mate Ronald Dodsley.

Those lost on that fateful day were:

    2nd ENGINEER Edward Kent (38)
    BOSUN Arthur Waddy (47)
    DECKHAND Dennis Lound (29)
    DECKHAND J Robinson (22)
    TRIMMER D A Craft 

     As ever there were sad footnotes to the tragedy.

     Edward Kent had celebrated his sixth wedding anniversary only a few days earlier and had sent his wife Violet a huge bouquet of Chrysanthemums with a card that read ' Don't worry, we will have a drink when I get back.'

     Arthur Waddy had spent 26 years at sea during which time he had survived three torpedo attacks during the war and had spent 10 days in open boats before being rescued.   He had five children aged from 15 to 3 years of age and always arranged for them to receive a box of fruit to be delivered to them on their birthdays.

     Mrs. Craft first heard the news of the tragedy on the BBC's midday bulletin and five hours later learned that her husband was one of those missing.   The couple had three children - twins aged 11 and a 5 year old son.

     And on that last, ill-fated voyage, spare hand Dennis Lound had remembered the birthdays of his and four-year old daughter with a telegram from the Arctic Viking.

A Tribute from the Mission

     Tribute to the five was paid at the memorial service held at Hull Fishermens Bethel on 30th October 1961 when Pastor T.O Chappell paid tribute to the crew of the Polish Lugger Derkacz.

     'These men sacrificed their own comfort so that their brothers at se, with whom they could not converse, could have a chance of survival'

     He added that Hull was in the debt of the men who risked their lives at sea and from the number of tributes received and the large number of people present it was clear that the fishing community of Hull was held in great respect by its other citizens. 

     The civic authorities in Kingston upon Hull duly thanked the skipper and crew of the trawler 'DERKACZ' for the sterling work they put in to rescue the Vikings crew and the subsequent care shown to them.

The Ensuing Enquiry

In the teeth of a Storm, with their vessel sinking under them, Fourteen men leapt for their lives into the Icy Water of the North Sea off Flamborough.   It must be remembered that Five men weren't so lucky and lost their lives.    Indeed, it was nothing short of a miracle that anybody lived to tell the tale.     The story of that fateful day is recalled here, with information from the Official Report and the accounts of the Survivors.

     The ministry of transport held an inquiry at Hull Guildhall and this was headed by Mr. J Roland Adam, Wrecks Commissioner.

     Mr. T. W. Boyd DSO head of Boyd Line Ltd, told the inquiry that he had never doubted the stability of the lost ship and had the utmost confidence in Skipper Garner.

     The skipper had stated in evidence that when the ship sank he was about five hours steaming from Hull and had enough fuel on board for at least 12 hours.   Mr. Boyd said he thought that for the future skippers should be instructed to retain enough fuel for two or three days' sailing.

     Crew members from the lost vessel told of the homeward trip through a gale and of how the Arctic Viking rolled.    Spare Hand, David Cressey (25) told how, when he was asleep at 0400hrs, a roll physically threw him out of his top bunk.   "I landed on my feet and ship pulled back on to an even keel," said Cressey, "but it was the worst roll I had known."     He added that when he was next called on watch he was conscious that the ship had a list of from 2 - 3 degrees.    Cressey said he was on the wheel when the next roll came.    The skipper called, "Hard to starboard," but the ship would not respond to the wheel.   The Skipper and the Wireless Operator pulled him out of the wheelhouse and he went aft, was flung into the sea and had to swim to a life raft.

     When Skipper Garner gave evidence he was asked by Mr. Barry Sheen for the Ministry of Transport; "Were you running for home because you were in a hurry to get in?".    "No, Sir," replied the skipper, 'I had already informed my wife that I would not be in for another 12 hours."

     Skipper Garner said that the weather on the run home was not bad enough to make him think he was in any danger of being pooped.  He had not contemplating heaving to because he had in the past run before the sea in worse weather.

     He was asked if the crew were frightened at the conditions, and replied that two of the crew were frightened.   "You do find people at sea who are more nervous than others," he added.

     Mr. Sheen had stated that the object of the inquiry was to learn more about the stability of small ships.    There were, he added, some aspects of the skipper's conduct which might need investigation.     These were whether he should have hove-to in the prevailing conditions instead of running before the sea and whether, with limited fuel supplies, he should have started for home earlier.    Failure to batten down the forward hatch which might have affected the trawler's stability was another matter for investigation.    The skipper had said that there were no standing instructions on the battening down of hatch covers.

     Final weigh-up by the skipper was in these words;   "I thought that conditions were quite reasonable for steaming.   I did not expect any trouble.   I was never more surprised in my life than at what happened".

     When the first sea hit the trawler she laid down to port with her bulwark under water.   The skipper ordered the engines to be stopped and put slow ahead.   The maneuver was successful several times in clearing the ship of water, but a second and possibly a third sea followed and the continued to roll over on her port beam ends, finally remaining for 30 seconds with her starboard side uppermost before capsizing.

     The official finding as to the cause of the capsizing and sinking of the Arctic Viking said that the loss was caused by a coincidence of wave formations of unpredictable and unascertainable proportions which overcame the trawler in her then trim.

     Incidentally, the Chief Engineer of the Arctic Viking on that day was a gentleman called Joe Bartle who you may meet if you ever take a tour of the Arctic Corsair.    He is the volunteer guide coordinator on the vessel.

Cressey Family

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