Welcome To Marine Heritage
Morecambe Bay is well known to millions of people as a holiday destination with shallow seas and warm, sandy beaches for children to play on. But those who live and work the Bay often see a different side of it, a side that the day trippers never see. When the westerly gales howl in off the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, the Bay reveals its Jekyll and Hyde nature.
In the days of sail shipwrecks were a day to day occurrence on the Lancashire coast as the gales often left vessels, with not much room to manouvre, disabled and wrecked on the extensive banks and shoals that abound. Indeed, the most dangerous parts of any voyage must have been the leaving of, and the approach to, any coast. Morecambe Bay, with its fast flowing tides, hidden banks and cross currents, must have proved a very difficult place to be caught out in.
I'm not really sure of the exact geographical boundaries of The Bay but it could be said to stretch from Barrow to Rossall Point. However, this list covers the area from Barrow to the Ribble and does not include the many, many vessels lost around Liverpool or the Isle on Man. Also, some of the ports that are referred to, although flourishing at the time, no longer exist as such. Poulton is one example.