The SB Hibernia was a 75-ton spritsail Thames barge constructed in 1906 in Greenhithe, Kent, England. As a classic example of early 20th-century sailing barges, she was built to serve the commercial maritime trade along the UK coast. The vessel was a sister ship to the Cambria, which has been restored for sailing and is notable for being the last spritsail barge to operate commercially in the United Kingdom. The Hibernia shared an identical design with the Cambria, reflecting the typical construction and rigging of Thames barges of that era. Owned by F. T. Everard & Sons of Greenhithe, the Hibernia was primarily engaged in transporting cargo, exemplified by her voyage from Goole in Yorkshire to Sittingbourne in Kent with a load of coal. Her crew consisted of a master, Harry Couchman, his mate William Lane, and a young cabin boy, Harry Couchton Jr., aged 15. At the time of her wreck, the vessel had been lying at Grimsby Roads after sailing two weeks earlier. On the night of 9-10 November 1937, the Hibernia encountered severe weather conditions. Initially moderate, the weather deteriorated into a squall with a strong north-easterly gale reaching speeds of up to 60 mph. The vessel became trapped on a lee shore, a perilous situation that led to her taking on water around 3:00 pm. The crew attempted to pump out the water, but the situation worsened as sails tore away and the vessel sprang leaks, rendering her unmanageable. The master fired distress rockets, which were seen by an approaching steamship, prompting the launch of the Cromer lifeboat, H F Bailey, under coxswain Henry Blogg. The lifeboat located the distressed barge after about an hour, aided by the steamship’s radio call and the position of her remaining lights. The crew was successfully rescued and landed at Gorleston amidst the gale and high seas. The Hibernia was driven past Cromer, eventually grounding on the Runton sewer pipe before breaking up on the beach. Her wreck marked the end of her service, but her story remains significant as part of the maritime history of Thames sailing barges and the bravery of the RNLI crew, with the H F Bailey lifeboat now preserved at the Cromer RNLI museum.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.