L'Amitie and The Georgetown Victory

Ships and Shipwrecks

The Vikings enter Strangford Lough

Viking Ships pass Gun's Island 1002 AD

In the year 1002 Sitric (Sigtrygg II Silkbeard Olafsson), King of the Danes, passed through the mouth of Strangford Lough with a fleet and plundered Kilclief Church with considerable loss of life.
The Vikings left their mark in this area:
Gunns Island was originally called Gunnar Island which means Battle Island
Strangford’s name means ‘strong fjord’ which is norse for violent inlet after the dangerously racing tides of the narrows. Originally Strangford Lough was called by the native Irish name Lough Cuan meaning ‘quiet Lough or Harbour Lough’.
Other names are:
Whelp from Norse Swelp for a young dog, Rafter (a roof support) from the Norse Rafter, a roof tree and Tether (to tie cattle) from the Norse Tyodra.

L'Amite, sunk off Sheepland in 1797

The L'Amitie was a 400 ton French warship ladened with cannons and munitions for the United Irishmen. On the dreadful night of April 7th, a storm came on quickly with snow blizzards which pushed the ship on to the rocks of Sheepland. Out of a crew of 104 men only one survived.The man who survived came back from his native land each year on the anniversary of the tragedy and walked up to the wreck along a path known locally as the 'Steersman's Path'. The L'Amitie was a merchant ship which was also involved in the extensive slave trade between Africa and America.

L'Amitie

The Georgetown Victory broken in two offn the Killard Banks

The Georgetown Victory, sunk off Killard Banks on April 30th 1946

On April 30, 1946, she ran aground off Killard Point, County Down, Ireland. All 1400 men were rescued by life boats and breeches buoy. The Illustrated London News noted that the ship was so close to land that a number of men waded ashore through heavy oil and were cared for in nearby homes. The newspapers blamed heavy fog, but an authoritative history of the Victory ships says she was running at full speed on a fine clear evening. Undoubtedly, everyone aboard was anxious to reach port. In any case, by daybreak the next day, the vessel had broken her back on the ledge, and deteriorating weather conditions made her breakup seem imminent. Later, all remaining portable gear not already taken by looters was removed and the ship abandoned. Winter storms later separated the wreck into two parts. These sections were finally salvaged in 1951 and consigned to the ship-breakers at Troon.