The fishery protection vessel Impetus was on delivery passage from Port St Mary to Lough Neagh where she was to take up duties as a protection vessel for the Toome Eel Co. On the night of 6^th April 1966, a light keeper observed distress flares south of Altacarry lighthouse. He immediately alerted the Coast Guard who in turn sent the Rathlin Lifesaving Company to the area. By this time the Impetus had drifted ashore and was stuck fast on the rocks. The Rathlin Lifesaving Company then helped the crew ashore. The Portrush Lifeboat arrived on the scene and her crew were told that the crew of the Impetus had been rescued and that they ought to proceed to Church Bay and pick them up for transfer to the mainland.

A strange sequel to the wreck of the Pintail was the fact that the skipper of the Impetus was a Mr George Barry who had been one of the crew of the Pintail when she was wrecked on Rathlin in 1949. On that occasion he was also rescued by the Rathlin Lifesaving Company.

The night the Impetus was wrecked was calm with a light breeze from the east and a slight swell, but the next day the wind increased to gale force and the Impetus quickly broke up – but not before a lot of useful items were salvaged by the islanders.

Diving information – Very little remains of this vessel except some bits of aluminium at the bottom, as this was the material of which she was built. The twin Rolls Royce V8 petrol engines are lying on the rocks opposite the wreck site. These are sometimes mistaken for aeroplane engines by visitors. It was said at the inquiry into the vessel’s loss that both engines seized.

The best time to dive the wreck is with the first of flood tide as the tide is then slack over the site. The bottom is covered in heavy kelp and depths range from 3 to 8 metres. Visibility is good.