1985 TT Race Bikes Lost at Sea – the Dunlop Brothers & Brian Reid | Season 4 – Episode 95
Floats, Wheels Dec 13, 2024
In May of 1985, motorcycle racing legends Joey and Robert Dunlop decided to break from their usual travel routine for the Isle of Man TT. Typically, they’d hop on a plane each June and have their race bikes transported by road, but this time they opted for a different approach. Along with fellow rider Brian Reid and a handful of others, the Dunlop brothers chartered a former Royal Navy target-towing vessel the 60-foot Tornamona Lass—to ferry them from Strangford in County Down to the Isle of Man.
MFV TORNAMONA LASS
Launched in December 1943 and named MFV 110, the vessel served the Royal Navy as both a target-towing ship and a minesweeper during World War II. Constructed with a wooden hull on a commercial design, these Motor Fishing Vessels (MFVs) were produced in large numbers for use as versatile harbour tenders—primarily transporting personnel and supplies in anchorages and local waters. Although they carried no fixed armament, they could be fitted with machine guns if needed. Designed with post-war disposal in mind, they appealed to civilian markets due to their adaptable nature.
In December 1948, MFV 110 was attached to HMS DRYAD, the Royal Navy’s navigation training school at Southwick, England, where it remained until 1962 before being reassigned as a training vessel for the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) in Belfast. It was sold out of service in 1966, after which it became the MFV Tornamona Lass.
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AGROUND
On the evening of May 23rd, the MFV Tornamona Lass set sail, skippered by Archie Lappin, carrying twelve passengers and crew, along with seven race bikes and equipment. After passing through the Strangford Lough narrows and overcoming the notorious seven-knot (4 m/s) currents at its mouth, the former Royal Navy vessel set a southeasterly course for the Isle of Man. Powerful currents soon drove the vessel onto St. Patrick’s Rock near Killard Point, County Down, where its rudder became wedged in a crevice and snapped off. Swept back into the lough by the currents, the Tornamona Lass struck Angus Rock and began to take on water.
SINKING
A radio call and signal flares alerted authorities on shore, prompting the launch of the Portaferry D-class inshore lifeboat. Powered by twin 40 HP Mariner outboards, the lifeboat arrived swiftly to find seven people in a life raft and four still aboard the sinking Tornamona Lass. Assisted by the vessel “Cuan Shore,” the lifeboat crew rescued the passengers and crew. Shortly afterward, the Tornamona Lass went down in 32 ft of water, taking its valuable cargo of racing motorcycles with it.
INTERVIEW
Interviewed at home in Ballymoney after the sinking of the Tornamona Lass, the seemingly unflappable Joey Dunlop told RTE reporter, Póilín Ní Chiaráin what he remembered about the incident; “We were down in the bottom of the boat and we were in these bunks trying to get some sleep and it started to get wild rough it always gets rough in the bar mouth.. the next thing this massive bang and all the lights went out and everything just flew everywhere and we realized that was it ..we knew we had hit something….we thought for a minute or two it was another boat because it was really dark by this time ..but once we got up onto the top we could see the rocks sticking up and we knew we were in big trouble.”
THE DUNLOP BROTHERS
Joey Dunlop, hailed as one of the greatest motorcycle racers of all time, hailed from Ballymoney, County Antrim. He made his Isle of Man TT debut at 19 in 1976, earning recognition the following year with a tenth-place finish in the Junior race. Dunlop went on to claim five consecutive TT Formula 1 World Championships (1982–1986) and multiple victories at the Ulster Grand Prix (1980, 1983, 1985).
Robert Dunlop, the younger brother of Joey Dunlop, began his road racing career at the 1979 Temple 100. Turning professional in 1981, he competed in his first race at Aghadowney on the former WWII airfield. His standout year came in 1987 when he was named “Man of the Meeting,” winning the 125cc, 350cc, and 1000cc races. He secured four additional 125cc victories in 1988, 1989, 1991 and 1993.
BRIAN REID
Brian Reid, a native of Banbridge in County Down, achieved back-to-back Formula Two World Championship titles in 1985 and 1986. He had already made a name for himself in 1982 by becoming the first rider to claim three Irish road racing championships in a single year, securing the 250cc, 350cc, and 500cc titles. Reid was part of the famed “Dromara Destroyers” with Ray McCullough, Trevor Steele and Ian McGregor.
SALVAGE
With the TT races set to begin on 1st June, a new race suddenly took shape: salvaging the seven submerged race bikes and getting them ready to compete. On the morning of 27th May, divers went to work at Angus Rock in the middle of Strangford Lough, while Joey Dunlop and his friends watched anxiously from the shoreline. Fortunately, the Tornamona Lass had settled in only 32 feet of water onto a gravel seabed, making the bikes relatively easy to recover. Once ashore, the bikes were taken back to their workshops, stripped down, rebuilt, and then trucked via car ferry to the Isle of Man, arriving just in time for the start of the TT.
Motorcycle News reported the incident at the time, and a photograph was taken of the sunken MFV Tornamona Lass resting on the seabed. If anyone can share a copy of that photograph with us, it would be greatly appreciated.
Each week, we travel far and wide to bring you our unique Irish transport stories. If you’d like to help cover travel costs, please consider subscribing for just €2 a month via www.irelandmade.ie —less than the price of a cup of coffee!
THE RACE BIKES
Of the seven race bikes on board the ill-feted MFV Tornamona Lass a number of them bought up by collectors over the subsequent years and given a full restoration. One of these was Brian Reid’s 1985 Spondon Yamaha RD500 F1 built at a cost of £25,000 for the world championship. Restored by its current owner in 2011, it now makes appearances in parade laps at the Classic TT.
If you have a story to share, please email Kevin Reid [email protected]
Sources of Information and Photo Credits:
Belfast Newsletter
Canmore – National Record of The Historic Environment (UK)
Carole Nash
Flicker: teamheronsuzuki
Irish Wrecks Online – photos by Jack Noble & Jay Johnston
Isle of Man Races website
Isle of Man TT Races – Facebook page
More Bikes
Portaferry Lifeboat website
Portaferry RNLI Facebook page
ProBoards – peddrotzr
Shipwrecks of the Ulster Coast – Ian Wilson
Tri-City Cycle & Sport
TT Race Pics
