South Africa: Hemba, Enfants Nantais, Phoebe, Strathmore & Quoin shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

James Searle, Algoa Bay, South Africa

September 14:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1870: Hemba (or Hecuba), this iron vessel foundered after striking a rock in Struisbaai in the Western Cape.

1876: Enfants Nantais, this French sailing barque wrecked on Back Beach in Durban in KwaZulu-Natal after its cables parted in an east-north-easterly gale.

1880: Phoebe, this wooden lighter wrecked after striking the bar in Durban in KwaZulu-Natal.

1880: Strathmore, this sailing barque was abandoned on this day off Duiker Point near Hout Bay in the Western Cape. Owing to bad weather, it had started leaking and its steering became unmanageable. It foundered shortly after being abandoned.

1950: Quoin, this whaler was scuttled off Robben Island in Table Bay in the Western Cape.

1996: Iolcos Victory, this 74 000-ton Cypriot ore carrier foundered about 200 km off Cape St. Francis in the Eastern Cape. It had flooded in its no. 1, 2, and 3 holds. Of the crew of 25, sixteen were saved by a Japanese fishing vessel, five were lifted by helicopter to Port Elizabeth for medical care, and four, including the captain were never seen again.

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South Africa: Eastern Province, Eastern Empire, Robert Morrow, Stanley & Jeannette shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

Truck wreck in Sperrgebiet, Namibia

June 26:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1865: Eastern Province, this British steam-powered cargo ship wrecked near the mouth of the Ratel River in the Western Cape.

1869: Eastern Empire, this British ship foundered near Struispunt in the Western Cape. Very little is known about it.

1903: Robert Morrow, this wooden British barque ran aground at Mouille Point in Table Bay in the Western Cape and after being refloated it was condemned and its remains were used as a jetty and a crayfish station in Hout Bay.

1904: Stanley, this Norwegian fishing trawler wrecked in the early hours of the morning near the Umkomazi River mouth in KwaZulu-Natal.

1966: Jeannette, this South African fishing vessel struck a submerged object and foundered off Quoin Point in the Western Cape.

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South Africa: De African, Amatola, Shepherdess, Christina, America, Tordenskjold & Katsuei Maru 58 shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

May 28:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1821: De African, this wooden Dutch sailing vessel was put into Table Bay in the Western Cape on the 8th of May as a result of having sprung a leak. On this day, the 28th, it was broken up and sold off.

1852: Amatola, this iron sailing schooner wrecked whilst trying to enter the Buffalo River in East London in the Eastern Cape. It was the first official casualty of the Buffalo River.

1859: Shepherdess, this wooden British barque sprang a leak and wrecked on Thunderbolt reef near Cape Recife in the Eastern Cape. Twelve people were lost during the wrecking.

1882: Christina, this wooden British/South African coasting schooner wrecked on Central beach in Plettenberg Bay in the Western Cape. It struck a blinder, resulting in the loss of its rudder and holing its starboard bilge. It was run aground on Central beach where it was left high and dry and was later condemned.

1900: America, this steam-powered British barquentine was abandoned on Woodstock Beach in Table Bay in the Western Cape, after a fire had broken out in the fore hold. Attempts to refloat it continued into August, but these were unsuccessful.

1930: Tordenskjold, this steam-powered British/South African whaler was scuttled just outside of Durban Harbour in KwaZulu-Natal. It had foundered 15 years earlier but was refloated.

1984: Katsuei Maru 58, this motor-powered Japanese fishing vessel ran aground and wrecked near Quoin Point in the Western Cape.

The image shows how quickly wrecks on the rocks can be broken up as it was captured in 1995, only 11 years after the Katseui Maru 58 (1984) wrecked

2022: A Beechcraft B200 King Air (registration no. ZS-PTE) failed to take off from a small 1 km long runway at the Lynedoch Private Airfield in the Western Cape, crashing into a duiker and a tree after skidding off the runway. The pilot attempted to takeoff twice, but reported that the uneven surface caused the aircraft to bounce resulting in both of these attempts being unsuccessful.

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South Africa: George, Essex, Regular, River Plate & Thames/SATS General Botha shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

May 13:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history” 

1831: George, this wooden sailing cutter parted its cables in a gale and ran ashore at about 16:00, becoming a total wreck, on Dyer Island in the Western Cape. 

1832: Essex, this wooden British whaler wrecked in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape. An alternative date of wrecking is given as the 22nd of June. 

1843: Regular, this wooden sailing vessel sprang a leak and was abandoned before running aground and becoming a wreck in Table Bay in the Western Cape. 

1878: River Plate, this sailing schooner was lost while attempting to enter Buffeljagsbaai, west of Quoin Point in the Western Cape. 

1947: Thames/SATS General Botha, this steam-powered South African cruiser was scuttled by gunfire in False Bay in the Western Cape. It was laid down in 1884 for the Royal Navy as the HMS Thames and was sold to a South African entrepreneur in 1920, who bought it in memory of his son who had died in the First World War.

The view of a diver at the bow of the SATS General Botha (1947) at about 54 m in depth

He named it General Botha and donated it to a trust with the stipulation that it be used for nautical training for those who would go on to serve on ships of the British Empire. During the Second World War the Royal Navy chartered the vessel and it assumed its previous name of HMS Thames, now serving as an accommodation and prison ship.

The SATS General Botha (1947) docked in Simon's Town, date unknown (pre-1925)

When it was returned to the trust, it was deemed uneconomical to repair and was scuttled in a naval exercise using gunfire, in the middle of False Bay in the Western Cape.

The SATS General Botha (1947) Memorial Plaque in Cape Town honoring those that were lost in the Second World War that were trained on the ship

The wreck site is known as the SATS General Botha and sits in just over 50 m deep water accessible to technical divers, but also tragically known for having claimed the lives of divers. To learn more about this ship, why not visit the South African Naval Museum in Simon’s Town as they have a permanent exhibition on it!

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South Africa: La Cybelle, Princeport, Astrida & Otori Maru 8 shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

March 19:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1756: La Cybelle, this 12-gun wooden sailing slaver wrecked north of Blaauwbergstrand in Table Bay in the Western Cape. It entered the bay in search of fresh water when it ran aground and wrecked.

1885: Princeport, this wooden sailing vessel wrecked on a reef near Dyer Island in the Western Cape.

1945: Astrida, this steam-powered passenger/cargo ship foundered, about 120 km south east of Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape.

The Astrida (1945), date and location unknown

It capsized and foundered in a storm and a distress signal was radioed out before it went down. The frigate Nadder and the tug John Dock rescued 29 people within 10 hours of the sinking, however, 88 people were never found.

1984: Otori Maru 8, this motor-powered fishing vessel ran aground at Shell Point, just west of Quoin Point in the Western Cape.

The Otori Maru 8 (1984) in 1990

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