South Africa: Helen, Barbadoes 2, Lunaria, Hermann, Mona, Thermopylae, King Cadwallon, Langebaan, Solhagen, Cape Hangklip & Bluefin shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

Shawnee wreck in Namibia

September 11:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1858: Helen, this wooden sailing brig wrecked on Coney Glen Rocks at the Knysna Heads in the Western Cape.

1861: Barbadoes 2, this wooden sailing barque wrecked in a south-easterly gale in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape. 

1861: Lunaria, this wooden sailing barque wrecked on the West Bank of the Buffalo River in East London in the Eastern Cape.

1874: Hermann, this sailing barque wrecked in a south-easterly gale on North End Beach in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape.

1887: Mona, this sailing barque caught alight and burned before foundering off Mossel Bay in the Western Cape. Its crew were picked up by the Livingstone and landed at Mossel Bay.

1899: Thermopylae, this steel steam-powered barquentine/freighter wrecked at Greenpoint Lighthouse in Table Bay in the Western Cape on the eponymous Thermopylae reef. On a bright moonlit night, it wrecked because of an error in judgement, being much closer to land than was thought.

1929: King Cadwallon, this steam-powered freighter wrecked in the surf zone at the Esplanade in East London in the Eastern Cape. It caught alight on the 7th of July, about a week out from Durban. Its crew battled the flames before it was abandoned on the 12th of July off the eastern coastline, and everyone taken off on the SS Ardenhall. It remained afloat for 41 days before being sighted off East London. The tug Annie brought it in and two days after being anchored, its cables parted during a south easterly gale, and it wrecked. The East London Museum houses and displays many of its artefacts.

1933: Langebaan, this motor-powered coaster wrecked off Stompneus Point in the Western Cape after the crew mistook a campfire light inland for the light of the coaster’s owners on shore.

1936: Solhagen, this steel steam-powered whaler wrecked on the southern end of Robben Island in Table Bay in the Western Cape. Of its crew of 12, six drowned and the remainder were rescued by rocket apparatus 14 hours later. They had to cling to the rigging and had food dropped on them by plane. An enquiry into the wrecking found evidence that the crew had been intoxicated.

1974: Cape Hangklip, this fishing trawler wrecked off Ystervarkpunt between the Gouritz River mouth and Stilbaai in the Western Cape.

1990: Bluefin, this South African tunny boat broke its moorings and wrecked in a north-westerly gale on the eastern side of Hout Bay, beneath Chapman Peak’s drive, in the Western Cape.

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South Africa: Magnolia, Steenbok & Philippine Leader shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

June 24:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1859: Magnolia, this wooden British brig struck a rock near the Knysna Heads in the Western Cape whilst leaving Knysna and subsequently wrecked.

1957: Steenbok, this motor-powered South African handline fishing vessel foundered off Cape Agulhas in the Western Cape.

1973: Philippine Leader, this oil tanker sustained a pump room explosion whilst sailing along the Eastern Cape coastline. The explosion killed six of its crew and split its hull in half.

The Philippine Leader (1973) after the explosion split it in two, with the Dutch tug Poolzee rendering assistance

The stern section sank, but the bow section was towed to Algoa Bay and later to Singapore where it became a barge.

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South Africa: Ann, Fredheim & Treasure shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

June 23:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1818: Ann, this wooden British vessel foundered south of the Cape Peninsula in the Western Cape.

1897: Fredheim, this wooden Norwegian barque wrecked on the rocks at the Knysna Heads in the Western Cape. It was attempting to clear the bar during a north-westerly gale after being denied entry for more than week owing to the rough seas.

Part of the Fredheim (1897) after shortly after it had wrecked on the rocks at the Knysna Heads

After misreading signals from the shore which made it clear that it was impassable, it came to close and was driven onto the rocks. All were saved except for one man who drowned. Its creosote cargo led to a pollution event that lasted for 18 months.

The main cargo on board the Fredheim (1897) was barrels of creosote, which after the wrecking caused a pollution event that lasted for a year and a half

2000: Treasure, this bulk iron ore-carrier was damaged in a storm and foundered west of Melkbosstrand in the Western Cape.

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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: Betsy and Sarah, Munster Lass, Jupiter T, Florence & Barge 1 shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

The Winston wreck in Namibia

April 19:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1839: Betsy and Sarah, this wooden Dutch sailing barque wrecked at Cape Padrone, near Cannon Rocks in the Eastern Cape. The captain had died at sea alongside a further 18 people. The remaining 32 people on board miraculously made it to shore but their vessel wrecked in the process.

1863: Munster Lass, this South African schooner sailing wrecked during a strong south westerly gale at the Knysna Heads in the Western Cape.

1875: Jupiter T, this Austrian sailing barque ran aground 1km from the shore, approximately 3 km east of Cape Padrone in the Eastern Cape. A navigational error placed the barque near Cape St Francis when it was actually at Cape Padrone. In the morning, the lookout spotted breakers, but the vessel could not be turned fast enough, and they struck a submerged reef. The mainmast broke and with a panicked crew, two boats were launched, one of these with only one young boy on board and the other with only two people on board. These two boats drifted away before anyone else could board and they were never seen again. The following morning the seas were too rough because of a storm. By evening it had calmed enough for two further boats to be launched. All those reaming on board reached the beach safely, except for one man who drowned when one of the boats overturned. The vessel and the cargo were sold off and it was easily salvaged during the calmer days that followed.

1883: Florence, this sailing schooner drifted from its anchorage whilst the crew was loading guano at Bird Island in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape. It struck Stag Island and wrecked.

1966: “Barge 1”, this iron barge was scuttled by the SAS President Kruger in False Bay in the Western Cape during a naval exercise.

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South Africa: Musquash, Odd, Boy Donald & Oceana Sapphire shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

Natal Coast ran aground in Namibia

March 22:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1855: Musquash, this wooden sailing ketch wrecked on Coney Glen Rocks at the Knysna Heads in the Western Cape.

1949: Odd, this motor-powered whaler capsized and foundered between North Pier and Vetch’s Pier in Durban in KwaZulu-Natal.

1983: Boy Donald, this motor-powered fishing vessel foundered off Lamberts Bay off the west coast in the Western Cape with the loss of four lives. 

2002: Oceana Sapphire, this South African fishing vessel foundered off Doringbaai off the west coast in the Western Cape.

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South Africa: Harmony, Shylock, Gazelle, Liba & Falken Outspan shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

March 13:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1826: Harmony, this British brig wrecked at Needles Point by the Knysna Heads in the Western Cape.

1839: Shylock, this wooden sailing cutter wrecked on a reef off Dassen Island off the west coast in the Western Cape.

1879: A strong north easterly gale claimed two vessels in Durban in KwaZulu-Natal: 

• Gazelle, this wooden sailing brig wrecked on Back Beach after its cables parted,

• Liba/Ziba/Zeba, this sailing schooner’s cables parted, and it was driven onto the bar at the harbour and then Back Beach where it wrecked. 

1953: Falken Outspan, this steam-powered whaler wrecked south of Robben Island in Table Bay in the Western Cape. It was being towed by the Carmen from Saldanha Bay when both vessels ran aground on Robben Island, but the Carmen was refloated whilst the Falken Outspan could not, and it was considered lost.

1967: Rietbok, this SAA Vickers Viscount (registration no. ZS-CVA), a public transport aircraft, wrecked in the ocean whilst approaching East London, in the Eastern Cape during flight SA406. All 20 passengers and five members of the crew were lost.

Daily Dispatch article on the wrecking of the SAA Rietbok (1967)

This wrecking event was shrouded in controversy with various reports emerging over the years, claiming that the loss of the aircraft was a political tactic to assassinate two vocal opponents of the Apartheid regime, Johannes Bruwer who was the acting chair of the Afrikaner Broederbond at the time, and Audrey Rosenthal, an American woman who assisted exiled PAC and ANC family members through the Defense and Aid Fund.

Die Burger article on the wrecking of the SAA Rietbok (1967)

However, several expert investigators have stated over the years that the loss was most likely accidental, owing to a once-off, or a combination of, several unfortunate circumstances. As the incident occurred late at night, in an area with strong currents and a rapidly dropping ocean depth starting at 60 m, recovery attempts were unsuccessful.

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South Africa: Sovereign, Emin, O’Bell & Clansman shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

Luderitz harbour, Namibia: Magna shipwreck

December 29:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1841: Sovereign, this wooden sailing schooner wrecked at the Knysna Heads in the Western Cape after leaving the Knysna harbour.

1893: Emin, this German steam-powered ship left Durban in KwaZulu-Natal for Delagoa Bay with a cargo of coal on this day and was never heard from again. All 31 people that were on board were presumed to have perished. Some scattered wreckage washed up along the coast that is believed to have come from the Emin. 

1916: O’Bell, this cargo steam-powered ship wrecked in the Mbhashe/Bashee River in the Eastern Cape.

1921: Clansman, this wooden fishing cutter wrecked on the southeast point of Dassen Island on the West Coast in the Western Cape.

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South Africa: Beacon House Luxury Apartments joins An African Anthology

An African Anthology is delighted to announce that Beacon House Luxury Apartments, a beautiful property situated on the famous Eastern Head of the popular seaside town of Knysna (Western Cape, South Africa) has joined the portfolio on 1 November 2022.

This multi-story building boasts 4 luxury apartments and 2 luxury double story penthouses all with spectacular views of the Knysna Lagoon and the entrance to the Heads.

The four luxury apartments are situated on the first and second floor of the building, each apartment offer three bedrooms and two well-appointed bathrooms, a fully equipped gourmet kitchen with fridge, freezer, gas and electric hob, oven and microwave, a scullery with dishwasher, washing machine and tumble dryer, air conditioning and fans, a gas fireplace, HD television with the full bouquet of DSTV channels, spacious sun decks with patio furniture, sun loungers and Weber braai (barbeque), including free internet access in the living room of all apartments.

The two luxury penthouses have the same features as per the luxury apartments, however each penthouse offers four bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, upstairs living area and are situated on the third and fourth floor of the building. Both the apartments and penthouses are designed for ultimate self-catering comfort and offer breath-taking views across the lagoon towards the beautiful Outeniqua Mountains and the Knysna Heads.

Beacon House is the perfect hub from which guests can access everything that makes Knysna famous as a holiday destination. Explore this naturally rich and historically interesting area, or just relax on the quaint lagoon beach a mere 50 meters from your door step. A great spot for a lagoon swim and an enticing playground for building sandcastles with the children, explore rock pools and enjoy walks to spectacular viewpoints. Don’t feel like cooking? East Head Café, one of Knysna’s most popular restaurants, is our closest neighbour and serve a wide selection of delicious breakfasts and café lunches and is situated directly on the lagoon. Alternatively there are a wide variety of restaurants situated within Knysna town and the popular Waterfront, a 15 minute drive from Beacon House.

Beacon House is sure to become a favourite destination. Please join us in welcoming Beacon House to the family.

An African Anthology

54 Bath Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg, 2196

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March 13: This day in South African shipwreck History

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

See also: Namibian shipwrecks

Today, March 13:

“This day in South African shipwreck History”

1826: Harmony, this wooden sailing vessel wrecked at Needles Point by the Knysna Heads in the Western Cape.

1839: Shylock, this wooden sailing cutter wrecked on a reef off Dassen Island off the west coast in the Western Cape.

1853: Africa, this vessel wrecked in the Mthatha River in the Eastern Cape.

1879: A strong north easterly gale claimed three vessels in Durban in KwaZulu-Natal: 

• Gazelle, this wooden sailing brig wrecked on Back Beach after its cables parted. 

• Liba. This sailing schooner’s cables parted and it was driven onto the bar and then Back Beach where it wrecked. 

• Zeba, this sailing schooner wrecked at the mouth of the harbour. 

1953: Falken, this steam-powered whaler wrecked south of Robben Island in Table Bay in the Western Cape. It was being towed by the Carmen from Saldanha Bay when both vessels ran aground on Robben Island, but the Carmen was refloated whilst the Falken became a total loss.

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