The Wreck of the Stella
On Maundy Thursday, March 30, 1899, the ill-fated Stella left Southampton for a Channel crossing to Guernsey. Fifteen miles from St. Peter Port in deep fog, travelling at nearly top speed, she struck the Casquets reef and sank within 10 minutes. Of the 190 on board, 77 passengers and crew were lost. This was a national tragedy and it remains the worst disaster in the history of the Channel Island steamers.

For over seventy years no one knew where the Stella lay, until a remarkable discovery was made by two local divers. The ship was discovered in 49 metres of water south of the Casquets reef in June 1973 by two of the Channel Islands' most experienced divers, Richard Keen of Guernsey and Fred Shaw of Alderney. The Stella was found lying upright and intact in very deep water, well away from her estimated position.

The programme tells for the first time the full story of the loss and finding of the Stella, one hundred years after the disaster. Its producers have brought together historical and diving knowledge to tell this story, and the descendents of saved and lost passengers and crew members have made a major contribution, telling their version of events and supplying a wealth of photographs and unique underwater footage.

The Channel steamship Stella, Capt. W. Reeks, left Southampton for Guernsey on Thursday, March 30th, 1899. It was the first run of the season and the ship was full of Easter holiday-makers, as it was the day before Good Friday, there being in all 74 passengers and 43 crew. Soon after leaving England the weather thickened and most of the run was continued in fog. This circumstance did not prevent the Stella from proceeding at full speed, as Capt. Reeks desired to reach Guernsey before nightfall. The siren was blown at the usual intervals, but otherwise no precautions were taken, the captain being apparently easy in mind as his course.

At about 4 p.m. the lookout sighted rocks ahead and heard the sound of the foghorn on the Casquets lighthouse. The ship at once went hard-a-port and continued on a fresh course for a little distance when she struck on the black Rock, one of the Casquets group, eight miles from Alderney. She recoiled from the first impact and struck again, being holed amidships on both occasions. The discipline on board was good and much heroism was shown by crew and passengers, but little time was available for the saving of life. Within eight minutes of striking, the Stella foundered.

The Stella carried five lifeboats and two collapsible Berthon boats. One lifeboat, overcrowded with people, capsized as soon as launched. Four others got away in safety. Two of these boats were picked up at about 8:00 next morning by the steamship Vera of the same company, and two by Great Western Railway Company's steamship Lynx. The port lifeboat, which had floated away keel upward, was sighted by the Cherbourg tug Marsouin. The seas had righted her and eight persons had managed to clamber into her.

A feature of the disaster was that the lighthouse keepers on the Casquets were unaware of the wreck until the steamship Honfleur arrived in search of survivors, though some inhabitants of Sark, 17 miles away, heard the muffled explosion of the Stella's boilers when she sank.

1x 55min, Aired on NDR (Germany) BBC, Discovery Channel
Co-produced by Underwater Video Services, Brush Fire Films and The Production Company