The sinking took place yesterday evening, when a crowd of several hundred saw the 20-ton vessel towed from the Stoney Cove quayside out towards the centre of the lake. Once in position, the seacocks were opened, and it took less than 15 minutes for the neat little vessel to fill with water, roll slightly, then dramatically sink below the surface by the stern to the accompaniment of a spectacular fireworks display.
A dive early this morning to clear mooring tackle and survey the wreck showed that the sinking plan had proved remarkably successful, the underwater pictures showing the Defiant sitting on an even keel in excellent viz only 13 hours after going down.
At the bottom of the flooded quarry the Defiant will join another steel tugboat, the Stanegarth, which has proved a major attraction at Stoney since its sinking at a depth 20 metres in June 2000.
"The Defiant is a pretty Dutch tug with an interesting war history, folklore indicating that she was brought to England by two men escaping the Germans during WW2," said Stoney Cove director Martin Woodward.
"At 14m (46ft) long and 20 tons she is somewhat smaller than Stanegarth's massive 18m (60ft) long and 81 tons, but she will make a superb addition to our collection and be a fine sister ship to Stanegarth."
Before sinking, the new wreck was thoroughly cleaned. Any potential for snags or entrapment was also dealt with, this work including grinding back all sharp edges and making openings.
Archive | 
Win a Luxfer pony cylinder
