The Doris (Wreck)

 ship wreck, interesting place, invisible

Captain Arentz lost his 1381 ton Norwegian steamer Doris because he made the same mistake as many others before him. He thought that the mist which hung right down over the waters of the Little Minch off the Western Isles was just thin stuff, and he would be able to spot any danger through it.

The west coast of the Isle of Skye is littered with wrecks because their captains couldn't tell thick from thin.

On 10 July 1909, the 255ft-long Doris, on her way with a general cargo from Liverpool to Stettin in Poland, plunged into that ÒMinch mistÓ and found herself suddenly in thick fog that blotted out all visibility.

Captain Arentz rang for slow ahead, but he was too late. The nine-year-old ship ran onto Neist Point in Moonen Bay, West Skye, and hit so hard that her bow buckled.

The 19 men of her crew, though unhurt, knew that she would not sail again. All landed safely from the ship's boats. A great deal of salvage was carried out before autumn storms put her right out of sight.