Me thinks I see a host of craft, spreading their sails a’lee,
As down the Humber they do glide, all bound for the Northern Sea,
Me thinks I see on each small craft, a crew with hearts so brave,
Setting out to earn their daily bread, upon the restless wave.
And it’s three score and ten, boys and men were lost from Grimsby Town,
From Yarmouth down to Scarborough, many hundreds more were drowned,
Our herring craft, our trawlers, our fishing smacks, as well,
They long defied the bitter night and battled with the swell.
Me thinks I see them yet again, as they leave the land behind,
Casting their nets in to the sea, the fishing shoals to find,
Me thinks, I see them yet again, and all aboard’s all right,
With their sails close reefed and the decks all cleared and the sidelights burning bright.
Me thinks I heard the skipper say, now lads we’ll shorten sail,
For the sky to all appearances, looks like an approaching gale,
Me thinks I see them yet again, after midnight’s hour is past.
Their tiny craft were battling still against the icy blast.
October's night, why such a sight was never seen before,
There were masts and spars and broken yards, came floating to the shore,
There was many a heart of sorrow, there was many a heart so brave,
There was many a hearty fisher lad, did find a watery grave.
Newspaper report of the loss: HULL TIMES – 2ND MARCH 1889
As day after day passes and no tidings arrive of the missing Grimsby smacks, it is beginning to be realised that the gale of the ninth will prove one of the most disasterous to the Grimsby fishing trade on record. Altogether, nearly a dozen fishing vessels carrying between 60 and 70 hands, are missing. Most of these vessels were only provisioned for 8 or 9 days and many of them have been out for over a month. For the safety of 7 of them, all hope has now been abandoned. The vessels are ‘Sea Searcher’ – trawl smack – 5 hands, ‘John Wintringham – cod smack – 11 hands, ‘Eton’ – iron steam trawl smack – 8 hands, ‘British Workman’ – cod smack – 7 hands, ‘Sir Fred Roberts’ – trawl smack – 5 hands, ‘Kitten’ – trawl smack – 5 hands, ‘Harold’ – trawl smack – 5 hands. The total number of vessels lost will, it is feared, be near 15 and of lives, between 70 and 80.
