SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage
July 4:
“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”
1830: Alfred, this wooden British barque was condemned after it was driven ashore in a north-westerly gale at Woodstock Beach in Table Bay in the Western Cape.
1850: Minerva, this wooden British frigate wrecked on a reef after its cables parted in a south-easterly gale in Durban in KwaZulu-Natal. Although none of those on board lost their lives, one of the rescuers from another vessel lost his life. The Minerva was bringing 280 British immigrants to settle in the area.
1860: Sir Henry Pottinger, this British barque wrecked in Table Bay in the Western Cape.
1870: Il Travatore, this vessel wrecked near the Groen River mouth in the Northern Cape. Very little is known about this vessel.
1879: Sedan, this German barque caught alight and foundered about 20 km off Bird Island in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape.
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| The Aristea (1945) is an awesome sight, with its massive boiler and remains slowly rusting away |
1945: Aristea, this South African steam-powered trawler wrecked near Hondeklip Bay in the the wrecking, the captain was too drunk to navigate the waters around Hondeklip Bay and ran it aground accidentally. One of the crew of 24 lost his life. The remains make for an interesting sight.
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| The sign that used to be at the wreck site of the Aristea (1945) in about 2009. It is believed that this sign is no longer there having succumbed to the elements |
1947: Panther, this South African whaler was towed out to sea and scuttled off Durban in KwaZulu-Natal. It served as a whaler, a tug, a fishing vessel, as well as a pleasure boat over its nearly 50-year lifespan.
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| What remained of the Fong Chung No. 11 (1975) at Robben Island in 2014 |
1975: Fong Chung No. 11, this Taiwanese tuna boat struck a rock in fog and was ran aground on Robben Island in Table Bay in the Western Cape where it became a wreck. Its remains are still visible.
Comments:
Mike Klee
The Sedan lies in about 18 meters of water off Port Elizabeth. It is nowhere near Bird Island.
She was carrying a cargo of railway sleepers, which sleepers clearly show evidence of the terrible fire that took the life of this ship.
Lying on a sandy bottom, the wreck is remarkably intact and is a paradise for crayfish and other marine life.
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