No-one is really sure what the boat is. A report by the Scarborough Maritime Heritage Centre offers some possibilities.
One suggestion is that it could be the remains of the Coupland, which sank in 1861, also leading to the wreck of the town's lifeboat Amelia. But the Coupland is supposed to have foundered on rocks near the spa, and would have been smashed to pieces.
Another theory was that the boat was the Arun, which went down in storms in 1880, but according to historian George Westwood the wreck in the beach isn't big enough to be the Arun. Westwood believes the wreck is the Vivid, which sank while entering the harbour in 1888.
Whatever it is, this weekend was the first time I've ever seen the wreck, in spite of being associated with the town, and a regular visitor, for 50 plus years. It made my weekend!
