SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage
February 29:
“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”
1976: Pati, this Cyprian motor-powered freighter wrecked in dense fog on Thunderbolt Reef at Cape Recife in the Eastern Cape. Plans were made to tow it off, but upon examination it was found that it was so badly holed that it would have sunk had it been gotten off. Fears of widespread pollution from its stores of bunker oil were eventually laid to rest when the oil was burned aboard.
A helicopter being used in the rescue operations of the crew of the Pati (1976) after it ran aground on Thunderbolt Reef, with the Cape Recife lighthouse in the background
The main cargo was cement meant for the Persian Gulf. There is some believe that its engine block is visible near the eponymous Pati car park, however what is visible in the surf is a boiler, currently believed to be from the wreck of the James Searle III (1955), which was a steam-powered tug. The wreck of the Pati can be dived on near Thunderbolt Reef, but because of the strong current and surge, it is considered a dangerous dive. From various vantage points at Cape Recife and the Wildside, the engine block of the "Pati" can clearly be seen projecting from the western edge of Thunderbolt Reef.
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