A middle distant view of the German three-masted barque Excelsior (1877) semi-submerged in off St. Martain's Island, having rolled onto her port side, leaving her starboard side and part of the upper deck above water. A slightly unsharp photograph.

A copy negative of an original print.

The Excelsior had anchored in St Mary's Roads in bad weather on 27 November 1881 but the cables parted at 3pm, driving the ship towards Crow Bar. Despite the crew's best efforts the ship grounded at Cruthers Point on the southwest of St Martin's Island. The attempt on 22 January 1882 to recover the ship with the Queen of the Bay and Lady of the Isles towing her was a failure. The steam pumps could not stem the flow of water and the Excelsior rolled over and sank. The Excelsior had left Rangoon on 7 June 1881 with a cargo of rice, rattan and teak and had been bound for Scilly for orders.