HMY Mary
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Marker: recorded wreck position (Date not recorded).
Key facts
| Name | HMY Mary | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Ship type | royal yacht | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Nationality / flag | United Kingdom | Wikidata P137 operator → P17 country |
| Operator | Royal Navy | Wikidata P137 operator |
| Sea / ocean | Irish Sea | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | Wales | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 5 km from land |
| Position | 53.4193, -4.6117 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
HMY Mary was the first Royal Yacht of the Royal Navy. She was built in 1660 by the Dutch East India Company. Then she was purchased by the City of Amsterdam and given to King Charles II, on the restoration of the monarchy, as part of the Dutch Gift. She struck rocks off Anglesey in thick fog on 25 March 1675 while en route from Dublin to Chester. Although 35 of the 74 crew and passengers were killed as the wreck quickly broke up, 39 managed to get to safety. The remains (bronze cannon) were independently discovered by two different diving groups in July 1971. After looters started to remove guns from the site, a rescue operation was organized and the remaining guns and other artifacts were taken to the Merseyside Museums for conservation and display. After the passing of the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973, she was designated as a protected site on 20 January 1974.
Diving & visiting
She was on a regular journey across the Irish Sea, en route from Dublin to Chester, on 25 March 1675. In the early hours of the morning in thick fog, she struck rocks on the south-west corner of The Skerries off Anglesey at position 53°25′9.31″N 4°36′42.15″W. The ship soon capsized and sank, and of the 28 crew and 46 passengers, only 39 scrambled ashore to be rescued two days later.
The bronze guns were discovered by both the Chorley Sub Aqua Club and the Merseyside Sub Aqua Club in the same month. Under the direction of Peter Davies of Liverpool University and the Merseyside Museums, the artefacts were rescued from the site before they were lost to looters.
Location
- Recorded position: 53.4193, -4.6117 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: Irish Sea
- Nearest coast: Wales
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article HMY Mary (revision 1333839533), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Wrecking, recovery and protection”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
- HMS Resistance 1899 · 8 km
- HMS Nimrod 1827 · 12 km
- HMS Enterprise 28 km
- U-246 1945 · 33 km
- HMS H5 1918 · 37 km
- HMS Conway 37 km
Browse more: UK & Ireland wrecks · wrecks off Wales · Irish Sea