SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage
May 26:
“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”
1796: Lord Hawkesbury, this wooden British whaler was run aground to become a wreck at Soetendalsvlei, presumably near the mouth of Heuningsnes river in Struisbaai/Struis Bay in the Western Cape. It was taken off the coast of Brazil as a prize ship by the French. Amongst the fourteen French men that they put on board, they left three English sailors to sail the vessel to Mauritius, but one of these sailors managed to run it aground when the French officer was not paying attention.
1843: Adventurer, this wooden British cutter foundered in Sandown Bay near Kleinmond in the Western Cape.
1864: Grahamstown, this wooden British barque wrecked in Table Bay on Woodstock beach in the Western Cape. A fire broke out in the hold on the 19th of May and with the holds closed, the crew managed to make it to Table Bay, where it eventually burned down to the waterline. Another source suggests that it instead slipped its cables and wrecked.
1872: A south-easterly gale led to the wrecking of eight vessels in East London in the Eastern Cape and a total loss of three lives. It is recorded that evert single ship that was anchored in East London had been driven ashore, but some were fortunate enough to be refloated.
• Elaine, a British iron brig was smashed to pieces on the breakwater.
• Emma, an American wooden brig became a wreck on the beach.
• Jane Davie, a British iron schooner was driven onto a reef near Bonza Bay. The stricken vessel was only spotted the next morning, and it was only on the 29th that a coasting steamship, the Bismarck arrived and could render assistance as the gale was still raging. Eighteen men and the captain’s wife and son were rescued after spending 3 days lashed to the rigging. Five sailors attempted to use cork buoys to reach the shore, and one of them drowned.
• Martha, a sailing brig that became a wreck on the beach.
• Quanza, a British four-masted steam-powered ship struck the rocks just east of Orient beach and wrecked. Much of the area, such as streets and bathing pools, were named after the wreck.
• Queen of May, a British wooden barque was smashed to pieces on the rocks. A young boy lost his life.
• Refuge, a British wooden barque that became a wreck on the beach.
• Sharp, a British wooden brig was driven onto the rocks. One man was killed by a falling block.
1917: Carlos de Eizaguirre, this Spanish steel steam-powered mail ship foundered off Robben Island in the Western Cape. During rough seas at just after 3 am, an explosion occurred, and everyone began to abandon ship. It sunk within five minutes.
The Carlos de Eizaguirre (1917), date and location unknown
Of the 107 crew and 50 passengers on board, only one lifeboat with 23 people on board was launched. The lifeboat was picked up by a tug near Robben Island, and the only other survivor, the chief engineer had managed to find a piece of floating wood after two hours of swimming. He was finally picked up a day and a half later by the coaster Langebaan. As it was never insured for war-time losses, secrecy meant that it was never reported that an explosion occurred but rather that the loss was due to heavy seas. However, it is believed today that it had struck a mine laid by the German commerce raider SMS Wolf.
1918: Eros, this two-masted British steam-powered ship foundered somewhere near Lambert’s Bay in the Western Cape. All 14 of its crew were lost.
1971: The Devil’s Peak Tragedy: Three SAAF Hawker Siddeley HS-125 jets were flying in a tight V-formation over the Cape Peninsula and the general Cape Town area in preparation for a Republic Day event, when they all crashed into the slopes of Devil’s Peak on Table Mountain as it was shrouded in fog.
The wreckage that was found after the Devil's Peak Tragedy above the Rhodes Memorial
All 11 crew members that were on board the three airplanes lost their lives.
An image captured by the SAAF of the Nagos (1993) in trouble in the heavy seas off the Eastern Cape coastline shortly before it foundered
1993: Nagos, this motor-powered Greek bulk carrier foundered and sank in heavy weather about 110 km South of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. Of the 33 that were on board, only 16 survived.
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