On 1^st March 1930, the Fleetwood steam trawler was returning to her home port from the St Kilda fishing grounds when she strayed off course in thick fog and ran aground on the north coast of Rathlin.  Her SOS was received by Malin Head ration station who relayed it to Ballycastle coastguard.  They in turn informed Portrush lifeboat and Rathlin Life-Saving Company set out with the rocket apparatus for the north side of Rathlin.  By this time the Portrush lifeboat had become lost among rocks near the Giant’s Causeway and very reluctantly had to turn back.

At around 7pm, some of the Life-Saving Company (LSC) managed to locate the stranded vessel at a place called Grennan Bo.  The heavy apparatus had to be manhandled across 2 miles of boggy terrain over which it was not suitable for horses to travel.  By now the LSC was severely fatigued, and little did they know that a much more exhausting night lay ahead.  It must be appreciated that it was now dark and due to fog, visibility was down to about 3 yards.  Aided by the shouts of the trawlermen, the rescuers began to fire rockets with lines attached and it wasn’t until the 6th rocket was fired that the trawlermen were able to secure the line.

Then began the hazardous job of taking the shipwrecked men ashore.  Some island men had to climb half way down the 200ft cliff to help the sailors out of the breeches buoy, as the rescue company were unable to haul them to the cliff top in one go.  Once on the ledge they were transferred by rope ladder to the cliff top where they were welcomed to the island by the priest, Father O’Hare.  It wasn’t until 6am the following morning that the last of the 14 man crew were hauled ashore and a totally exhausted Rescue Company headed for home, some with their hands cut to the bone from hauling on the ropes all night.  The rescued crew were picked up in Church Bay the following morning by another trawler after having been provided with food and warm clothing.

History was also made another way on Rathlin Island that night.  The Island Post Office stayed open for 24 hours, the first time in the British Isles that this had happened.  The reason was so that the postmistress could operate the wireless transmitter, the only contact with the mainland.

The Rathlin Life-Saving team were the deserving recipients of the National Life-Saving Shield for their heroic deed.  A marble tablet, with the names of the men involved in the rescue inscribed on it was also erected in the community hall on the island – a lasting memorial to a brave band of men.

Nineteen years after the rescue of the crew of the Schackleton, some of the same volunteers won the same award for the part they played in the rescue of the crew of the trawler, Pintail, an almost carbon copy of the Shackleton.

Diving information – The steam trawler Shackleton was wrecked on the north side of the island at a place called Grennan Point. Most of the wreckage is on the shore side of the submerged rock just to the west of the point. The wreck is badly broken up and is scattered over a wide area. It is advisable to dive the wreck only with ebb tide as the flood tide races over the site at above 5 knots. The depth ranges from about 4 to 12 metres and the visibility is usually quite good.