Gordon Lightfoot Forums - View Single Post - "Ballad of the Yarmouth Castle" who knows?

Florian · 12-13-1999, 03:42 PM

Hi Steve,

Welcome to this discussion board!

First of all, here are the lyrics to this ballad: Ballad of Yarmouth Castle

The Yarmouth Castle was registered in Panama.

Here are two reports on what has happened:

November 13 1965
Yarmouth Cruise Line's "Yarmouth Castle" sinks on its New York-to-Nassau run.
The Yarmouth Castle left Miami for Bermuda at 4 p.m and caught fire from a unknown souce some time around 9.pm but wasn't reported until after midnight. The fire started in a utility room under the forward stair case and smoldered through the evening. When it finally flared up, it quickly worked it's way up to the bridge. No S.O.S or P.A. announcement
was sent so people in the aft didn't know about it until the smoke or the noise woke them up.
While the fire worked it's way forward the ship Bahama Star saw the Castle burning and prepared to rescue survivors.
The captain of the Castle left in his lifeboat.
89 people died in the fire.
The Castle rests in about 1600' of water. It is completley gutted. There would be nothing to see diving on the wreck.

S.S. YARMOUTH CASTLE
The SS Yarmouth Castle was built as a passenger vessel in 1927 with a riveted steel constructed hull and multiple wooden decks, structural support and compartments. During an overnight cruise on November 13, 1965 from Miami to Nassau, a fire broke out in a storeroom on the main deck. The USCG fire inspection proposed that a stored bed mattress fell on a jury-rigged ceiling light and started the fire. Because the ship was designed for natural ventilation, the fire progressed through the ship at an alarming rate. By the time the crew located the fire, available extinguishing equipment was not effective. A loss of radio equipment prevented the Captain from alerting the passengers soon enough to organize a successful evacuation. Of 552 passengers on board, nearly one-quarter perished.

The discovery channel even has a video-tape series about famous shipwrecks. Here is what they advertise: 'Rare film footage and eyewitness accounts highlight these six amazing stories of bravery amidst shipwreck.'

You might want to check their website: Shipwrecks - Discovery Channel

All in all, it is amazing on how accurately Gordon Lightfoot told the real story in his ballad.

12-13-1999, 03:42 PM	#2
Florian Moderator Join Date: Sep 1999 Location: Vienna, Austria Posts: 266	Hi Steve, Welcome to this discussion board! First of all, here are the lyrics to this ballad: Ballad of Yarmouth Castle The Yarmouth Castle was registered in Panama. Here are two reports on what has happened: November 13 1965 Yarmouth Cruise Line's "Yarmouth Castle" sinks on its New York-to-Nassau run. The Yarmouth Castle left Miami for Bermuda at 4 p.m and caught fire from a unknown souce some time around 9.pm but wasn't reported until after midnight. The fire started in a utility room under the forward stair case and smoldered through the evening. When it finally flared up, it quickly worked it's way up to the bridge. No S.O.S or P.A. announcement was sent so people in the aft didn't know about it until the smoke or the noise woke them up. While the fire worked it's way forward the ship Bahama Star saw the Castle burning and prepared to rescue survivors. The captain of the Castle left in his lifeboat. 89 people died in the fire. The Castle rests in about 1600' of water. It is completley gutted. There would be nothing to see diving on the wreck. S.S. YARMOUTH CASTLE The SS Yarmouth Castle was built as a passenger vessel in 1927 with a riveted steel constructed hull and multiple wooden decks, structural support and compartments. During an overnight cruise on November 13, 1965 from Miami to Nassau, a fire broke out in a storeroom on the main deck. The USCG fire inspection proposed that a stored bed mattress fell on a jury-rigged ceiling light and started the fire. Because the ship was designed for natural ventilation, the fire progressed through the ship at an alarming rate. By the time the crew located the fire, available extinguishing equipment was not effective. A loss of radio equipment prevented the Captain from alerting the passengers soon enough to organize a successful evacuation. Of 552 passengers on board, nearly one-quarter perished. The discovery channel even has a video-tape series about famous shipwrecks. Here is what they advertise: 'Rare film footage and eyewitness accounts highlight these six amazing stories of bravery amidst shipwreck.' You might want to check their website: Shipwrecks - Discovery Channel All in all, it is amazing on how accurately Gordon Lightfoot told the real story in his ballad.