South Africa: Brederode, Haliartus & Alexandros T shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

May 4:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history” 

1785: Brederode, this Dutch East Indiaman lost its rudder after striking an unknown reef four times in quick succession on the 3rd of May, off Cape Agulhas in the Western Cape. Attempts to turn it towards the beach to run it aground were unsuccessful, and with the hold flooding faster than water could be pumped, it was abandoned at sea around 04:30 the morning of the 4th, following which it foundered at sea. When the survivors reached the shore on the boats, a headcount revealed only 80 people were on shore, and with lights from the Brederode signalling, it meant that 12 people were left on board. The waves were too strong to relaunch the boats to rescue these 12 people and they were never seen again.

The Haliartus (1932) steaming onwards, date and location unknown

1932: Haliartus, this steam-powered British freighter struck a rock in dense fog and wrecked near Ystervarkpunt/Bull Point near the Gourits River mouth in the Western Cape.

The Haliartus (1932) after running aground

By the 7th of May the stern had disappeared below water and the SS Chub had managed to salvage some of the cargo.

2006: Alexandros T, this Greek motor-powered bulk carrier foundered in deep waters off the south-eastern coastline of the Eastern Cape.

The Alexandros T (2006), date and location unknown

Seven of the crew were picked up by the Fortune Express after it reacted to a distress call, but 26 lives remained unaccounted for and are presumed to have gone down with the ship.

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South Africa: Hotbank, Fairholme, Doryssa & Rooijantjies Fontein shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

April 25:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1873: Hotbank, this British wooden snow sprang a leak after striking an object and was subsequently run ashore, where it wrecked, at Cape Recife in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape.

1888: Fairholme, this iron British sailing vessel was abandoned after catching fire off Cape Agulhas. The crew had been taken off by the German barque Olga and it eventually sank approximately 1.5 km west of Knysna Heads in the Western Cape. The wreck site can be dived and is around 10m in depth but requires a very calm ocean due to the strong currents.

1943: Doryssa, this British motor-powered petroleum tanker was sunk by the Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci about 450 km South-south-west of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. A total of 53 people died during the event and 9 were rescued by the whaler Southern Breeze and landed in Cape Town. This would be the final vessel claimed by the Leonardo da Vinci. It was sunk by the HMS Active and HMS Ness with a depth charge, almost 500 km out at sea, on the 23rd May on its way to Bordeaux.

Doryssa (1943), anchored in Table Bay, date unknown

1989: Rooijantjies Fontein, this South African fishing vessel capsized and sank off Saldanha Bay in the Western Cape with the loss of one life.

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South Africa: HMS Guardian, Maria, L’Ecole & Augusta shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

April 12:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1790: Guardian, this 44-gun wooden sailing transport sloop struck an Iceberg in dense fog near the southwest Indian Ocean Ridge on the 24th of December whilst transporting convicts and provisions to New South Wales, Australia. It set off from the Cape of Good Hope with a crew size of 123 of which 25 were convicts.

Dramatization of the HMS Guardian's crew escaping on the boats after striking the iceberg, by Robert Dodd, July 1st 1790

The following day, after having struck the iceberg with the ship seeming beyond rescue, numerous attempts were made asking the captain to abandon ship. The captain allowed the boats to be launched and about half of the crew made it onto them. However, the captain, along with a crew of 60 remained on board and managed to repair the sloop to the point of floating and it was mercifully carried by the wind the entire 2000 km back to the Cape of Good Hope. After several arduous weeks at sea, what remained of the Guardian reached the Cape of Good Hope and the captain sent a letter on the 15th of March expressing his intent to ground the sloop in Saldanha Bay so that the Guardian and its cargo may be rescued. Unfortunately, a gale wind forced it into False Bay where it was wrecked on the beach on this day.

Title page of the account of the HMS Guardian's wrecking by its captain, Lieut. Riou, 1808

The wrecking after this gale did not result in the loss of lives. However, of the 63 passengers that were loaded onto the boats on the 25th of December, only one boat with 15 passengers on board was ever rescued. The French merchant ship, Viscountess de Bantannie picked up this boat on the 3rd of January, between 100-500 km (pending the account) east of KwaZulu-Natal. 

1790: Maria, this wooden sailing barque wrecked near the Salt River mouth in Table Bay in the Western Cape. It was anchored in the bay when a great north-westerly gale parted it from its cables, and it was driven ashore where it wrecked. It was one of 7 ships to have been driven ashore during this gale, but the only one which could not be refloated. 

1829: L’Ecole, this wooden sailing vessel wrecked just north of the Inxaxo River mouth near Sandy Point in the Eastern Cape. Reports vary, but it is believed that between 13-30 people were lost due to the wrecking. 

1988: The Wild Goose, this United Air Douglas DC-3C (registration no. ZS-UAS) twin engine charter airplane had an in-flight fire and crashed during the emergency descent in an open field in Hennenman in the Free State with the airplane disintegrating and all 24 occupants losing their lives. The official investigation could not find any maintenance or crew errors and the speculation was that the fire may have been caused by a fuel booster pump failing. The passengers consisted of jockeys and their trainers. 

1993: Augusta, this South African motor-powered fishing vessel foundered in a storm east of Cape Agulhas in the Western Cape. All 12 that were on board were lost.

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South Africa: Star of Peace & Meisho Maru No. 38 shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

November 16:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1906: Star of Peace, this steel steam-powered fishing trawler wrecked in dark and hazy weather at Jessie se Baai, near Quoin Point in the Western Cape. It struck a submerged rock and immediately foundered, with the crew safely getting to Gansbaai in the lifeboat.

The Meisho Maru No. 38 (1982) taking a battering from the sea in 1984, two years after it had wrecked

1982: Meisho Maru No. 38, this motor-powered fishing trawler wrecked about 1km north-west of the Southern Tip of Africa, at L’Agulhas/Cape Agulhas in the Western Cape.

The bow section is all that remains visible above the water of the Meisho Maru No. 38 (1982) today

It is still visible from the shore today, although it is breaking up rapidly. It has been the subject of many photographers since its wrecking.

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