Loch Sloy

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Loch Sloy was a Scottish sailing ship called a barque. It sailed between Great Britain and Australia in the late 1800s. The ship was named after Loch Sloy, a lake near Helensburgh in Scotland.

It was built in Glasgow in 1877 by D. and W. Henderson and Company for the Glasgow Shipping Company, also known as the Loch Line. Loch Sloy was about 1,280 tons, roughly 225 feet long, with a sail-powered barque rig and a crew of 26.

The ship had several captains: James Horne (1877–1885), John McLean (1885–1890), Charles Lehman (1890–1895), James R. George (1895–1896), William J. Wade (1896–1899), and Peter Nicol (1899).

On 24 April 1899, Loch Sloy was on a voyage from Glasgow to Adelaide and Melbourne with cargo and seven passengers. It tried to reach the Cape Borda light on Kangaroo Island, but went too close to shore because the light was hidden by cliffs. The ship hit a reef in Maurpertuis Bay, about 300 metres from shore. The crew and passengers climbed into the rigging, but the masts broke and the vessel was tossed by the waves.

Of the 34 people on board, only four survived; one of the survivors later died from injuries and exposure.