The Beagle was a Glasgow built steamship and was launched on the 21st July 1864. She was used as a small cargo passanger steamer between Glasgow and Belfast. It was on one of these crossings on the 8th November 1865 that she collided with the steamship Napoli just off Skate point where she sunk shortly afterwards. The Napoli struck the Beagle on her port side causing extensive damage, all the crew and passengers were rescued by a passing tug boat, the Pearl.

The wreck today : Today the Beagle lies in 34 metres of water on an even keel at position 55°47.3'N , 004°56.6'W . She is 37 metres long and has imposing plumose-anemone covered bows. The main anchor can be found sitting on top of the forcastle along side the bow steam winch. In good visibility interesting views of the wreck can be had of the bow and stern sections due to the marine life and orientation of the ship itself. Visibility on the wreck averages 4 - 5 metres and the tidal movement over the wreck is generally weak, less than 1 knot.

The map and the sketches are reproduced with the kind permission of Moir & Crawford and are taken from their book 'Clyde Shipwrecks'