South Africa: Clymping, Brighton, Die Heimath, Sir Frederick, Tong Nam & Taiyin 1 shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

Suiderkus shipwreck in Namibia

July 25:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1881: A south-westerly gale resulted in the wrecking of three vessels and the loss of life of 30 people off the East London coast in the Eastern Cape: 

• Clymping, a wooden British barque with only one survivor;

• Brighton, a British barque with only two survivors with the captain being ashore at the time;

• Die Heimath, a Norwegian barque with the captain being ashore at the time. 

1928: Sir Frederick, this South African tug was scuttled off Cape Recife near Thunderbolt Reef in the Eastern Cape. 

1979: Tong Nam, this Singaporean ore carrier foundered during a storm about 50 km from Durban in KwaZulu-Natal. The captain had tried to return to Durban to find shelter with a broken hull, but it broke in two in the mountainous seas. Of the 38 on board, only six were rescued by helicopter. 

1992: A Bonanza Learjet 24XR (registration no. ZS-MGC) crashed into meteorological equipment after attempting to land at Lanseria Airport in Gauteng. The accident was determined to have been caused by a nose gear centralizing cam that had been damaged when the jet was towed up a steep incline. When landing, the nosewheel was in an offset position which caused the jet to swerve violently off the runway as it touched down. The two people that were on board survived. 

1993: Taiyin 1, this fishing vessel was lost east of East London in the Eastern Cape with the crew of 27 being rescued. Very little is known about it.

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South Africa: Oosterland, Waddingsveen, Ashleigh Brook, Itzehoe & Natal shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

May 24:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1697: Two Dutch East Indiamen, the Oosterland and Waddingsveen, were lost on the same day during a strong gale in Table Bay in the Western Cape, just north of the Salt River mouth.

Two examples of complete Chinese blue-and-white porcelain artifacts that were excavated from Oosterland. They date to the Kangxi period (1662–1722 CE) and were probably private trade goods

Reports vary, but it is believed that no more than 17 of the approximately 400 people that were on board both vessels survived. Both wrecks were subject to an archaeological excavation during the late 1980s/early 1990s. The excavations lead to the discovery of many artefacts that lay preserved under the shifting sands of Table Bay which, because of the artefacts being found in context by archaeologists, helped to further our knowledge of what life was like on board these ships and to give a clearer picture of what goods were being traded between Europe, Southern Africa and the Far East.

1890: Ashleigh Brook, this British iron steam-powered ship wrecked at Dassen Island in the Western Cape in the early hours of the morning.

1911: Itzehoe, this German steam-powered cargo ship ran aground and wrecked on the rocks at Cape Recife in the Eastern Cape. The tug Sir Frederick tried to pull it off, but this was to no avail.

The Itzehoe (1911), aground with the Cape Recife lighthouse in the background

When it became clear that the ship would be lost, lighters were dispatched to get most of the cargo off before the weather turned. It later broke its back and was slowly taken by the sea. Parts of the hull are still visible today and are found at a depth of about 7 m.

1914: Natal, this steam-powered Norwegian whaler ran aground and wrecked on Robben Island in the Western Cape while chasing whales in a thick fog.

1981: A SAAF Douglas DC-3 (registration no. 6878) was destroyed in a fire on this day at the Johannesburg-Rand Germiston Airport in Gauteng while it was being serviced.

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