South Africa: Fairfield, Henry Hoyle, John Bagshaw, Reform, Active, Queen of the Nations, Courland, Hartfield & Malmesbury shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

South West Seal wreck in Namibia

September 9:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1842: A strong north-westerly gale parted the cables of and resulted in the wrecking of four vessels in Table Bay in the Western Cape:

• Fairfield, a wooden sailing barque wrecked near the Hospital Lines at Woodstock Beach. It now lies beneath reclaimed laid.

• Henry Hoyle, a wooden sailing brig became stranded near the Hospital Lines at Woodstock Beach. It was condemned after refloating attempts failed.

• John Bagshaw, a wooden sailing barque wrecked on the South Wharf.

• Reform, a wooden sailing brig wrecked in front of the Imhoff Battery on Woodstock Beach. 

1845: Active, this wooden sailing schooner wrecked in Plettenberg Bay in the Western Cape. It was en route from Knysna, bound for Table Bay, when it had to enter Plettenberg Bay on the 6th of September, leaking badly. On the morning of this day, its master had to run it ashore as the leak became completely unmanageable, and it wrecked during this event.

1889: Queen of the Nations, this wooden sailing barque was found abandoned on the 6th of June and towed to East London in the Eastern Cape by the Clan Alpine. After its 90 tons of cargo were removed, it was driven ashore near Bats Cave on this day and became a wreck. Another report suggests that instead its tow cable parted, and it was driven ashore and wrecked.

1891: Courland, this iron steam-powered ship wrecked east of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal. Very little is known about this vessel.

1895: Hartfield, this iron sailing barque caught alight and was abandoned over 400 km west of Table Bay in the Western Cape. Its crew was initially thought to have been missing but were later brought in having been picked up by the Luna. The vessel is presumed to have foundered after burning down. 

1930: Malmesbury, this steel steam-powered freighter wrecked in heavy fog on Jacobs Reef, south of Cape Columbine on the West Coast in the Western Cape. It was on its maiden voyage, bound for Cape Town with a cargo of maize when it struck the reef and flooded. Its crew were picked up by the tug T S McEwan.

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South Africa: Fame, Ellen Rawson, Isabella & James Searle 3 shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

June 14:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1822: Fame, this British East Indiaman wrecked just off Sea Point in the Western Cape after it lost its anchor in a strong northerly gale.

1857: A north-westerly gale in Table Bay in the Western Cape claimed two British vessels on this day:

• Ellen Rawson, a wooden barque wrecked at Mouille Point; and

• Isabella, a wooden brigantine is reported to have wrecked in front of a battery – which could mean either the Amsterdam Battery or the Imhoff Battery.

1955: James Searle 3, this South African tug was beached at Secrets beach just west of Cape Recife in the Eastern Cape. The remains of its boiler are often visible in the surf. If you have a photo of it, why not share it in the comments and it may be featured on our post next year!

James Searle 3 keel on the beach at Secrets

James Searle 3 boiler at Secrets

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South Africa: Gitana, Helena, Newport, Rory Brown, Marlina & Kiperousa shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

June 7:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1857: A north-westerly gale blowing into Table Bay in the Western Cape resulted in the wrecking of three vessels: 

• Gitana, a schooner, wrecked near the Imhoff Battery after its cables parted.

• Helena, an Iron sailing schooner, was possibly driven onto the rocks at Granger Bay.

• Newport, a brigantine which wrecked near the Imhoff Battery.

• Rory Brown, a British brigantine, which wrecked near Imhoff Battery.

1943: An RAF Catalina (registration no. FP275) returned to St Lucia Bay in KwaZulu-Natal after conducting an anti-submarine mission, but the aircraft stalled on approach, resulting in it crashing on the south side of St Lucia Bay. One of the crew of eight survived.

1979: Three Dutch hopper barges, HAM 570, HAM 580 and HAM 582, were scuttled off the Cape Peninsula in the Western Cape by the SAS Windhoek, SAS Durban, and SAS Port Elizabeth.

1990: Marlina, this motor-powered South African fishing vessel wrecked on Dassen Island in the Western Cape.  

2005: Kiperousa, this Maltese bulk carrier wrecked on a reef of the Bhenga River mouth, just south of Hamburg in the Eastern Cape.

The Kiperousa being battered shortly after running aground

Deene Collopy
She had already been aground a while by the time this picture was taken, as the first phase of the salvage had already been completed and that was removing her deck cargo of logs. Salvors brought in a Soviet era built MI26 from Sudan to lift off the deck cargo logs.

Dylan Knott
Wasn't she towed off then scuttled?

Deene Collopy
No - fell apart in situ after being pounded by heavy seas.

Dylan Knott
Couldn't have lasted too long. Seas rip apart ships in a few weeks.

Dylan Knott
Place charges were used to rip her open for mother nature to do her work quicker.

Deene Collopy
Correct, by this time all deck cargo had been airlifted off.

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South Africa: Farleton, Jane, Pacquet Real, Rambler, Thorne, Courier, Oostewal & Perelberg shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

Shipwreck, Skeleton Coast, Namibia

May 18:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history” 

1818: A north-westerly gale blew into Table Bay in the Western Cape resulting in the wrecking of 4 vessels:

• Farleton, this British sailing brig was driven ashore, becoming a wreck and eventually breaking up.

• Jane, this British sailing snow was driven ashore near the castle, where it wrecked.

• Pacquet Real, this Portuguese brig (a slaver) was driven ashore and wrecked. It was on a voyage from Mozambique to the Bahamas with 167 enslaved people on board when it was put in quarantine in Table Bay. The gale drove it ashore where it broke up rapidly with a heavy loss of life. During the 1950s an excavation at Fort Knokke revealed a mass grave containing approximately 19 skeletons. These remains were analysed in 1996 and were thought to have been victims of this wreck.

• Rambler, this wooden British sailing schooner was driven ashore to become a wreck in Table Bay.

1831: Thorne, this wooden British sailing vessel wrecked after encountering thick fog near Robben Island in Table Bay in the Western Cape.

1852: Courier, this wooden British sailing schooner ran ashore and wrecked near Imhoff Battery in Table Bay in the Western Cape after its cables parted in a north-westerly gale.

1954: Two motor-powered whalers, the Oostewal and Perelberg were driven ashore to become wrecks near Meeuw Island in the Langebaan Lagoon in the Western Cape. They were stationed at Donkergat before the whaling operations ceased.

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