Hangovers galore after famous bottle
Not all of Alec’s salvage missions have been for business and one memorable early dive, he recalls in his book, Treasure Islands, was in the Western Isles exploring the SS Politician, the famous shipwreck that inspired Whisky Galore.
The cargo vessel carrying 22,000 cases of whisky foundered off the coast of Eriskay in 1941, taking 264,000 whisky bottles down with it.
Last week, we told how a bottle from the famous wreck was going up for sale at auction but the highest bid, £6,000, did not meet the reserve price and the bottle is still on sale. Alec has two at home, sitting untouched on his mantelpiece, taken during his dive in the early 1970s.
“At the time, that dive was just a fun day out for us. We collected some loose scrap but just enough to pay for the fuel we used on the boat to get there,” he recalled.
“The receiver of the wreck, who lived on Barra, used to come out with us on our boat, the Dewy Rose. Funnily enough, he said the bottles were not worth the paperwork and gave us verbal permission for the dive.
“There was perfect visibility down there. We found some intact bottles in the corners of the hold and brought back about five each. At the time, they were valueless, so I kept one and gave the rest to family as mementoes.
“We actually drank one when we returned to Barra. We boiled the bottle, let it cool then and passed it around everyone. Worse medicine would be hard to find and the following morning was probably the worst I’ve had in my life!
“I’d never sell the bottles I’ve kept. These things are lovely to have because they are so unusual. They are almost ruined by being valuable.”