Namibia: West Coast shipwrecks: "Irmgard" & "Islander" | Кораблекрушения у западного побережья Намибии
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46. "Irmgard"
Date: 1978
Grosse Bucht, Luderitz
"Irmgard" wreck is located in Luderitz Grosse Bucht ("Large Bay"), a bay along the coast near coastal town. The vessel belonged to the father of Mr. Ulf Grunewald, Luderitz Nest Hotel's owner. Mr. Hans Kustner built the boat in his garage in the space of a year, so that he could catch crayfish.
He named it after his sister, Irmgard, and used it for a long time before selling it and moving to Windhoek. Upon its initial launch, it was the first flat-bottomed steel boat to be built in Luderitz. Unfortunately, the new crew was asleep on the boat one night when a terrible storm caused the anchor to break off from the boat which was then strewn onto the rocks and eventually onto the beach at Grosse Bucht in 1978/1979. Now only a skeleton of the boat is visible.
47. "Islander"
Date: July 1973
Rocky Point
In July 1973 the 21 metre 139 gross ton fishing vessel Islander, registered in San Diego, USA, ran aground about 70 km north of Rocky Point close to the Angolan border. It was built in San Diego in 1972 with a powerful 630 hp diesel engine. One of the crew lost his life, while the others managed to reach the shore safely. As they had not managed to send a distress signal, no one knew of their predicament. The captain and first officer decided to walk to Rocky Point to look for help. While this was happening, Bernabe de la Bat, the director of the division of Nature Conservation and Tourism of the South West Africa Administration, was on an inspection flight in the Skeleton Coast National Park. On the flight, they saw a vehicle driving in the park. At the time, the conservation department was having problems with people illegally entering the newly proclaimed park. Suspecting the occupants were on an illegal fishing trip, they flew low over the vehicle and from its registration number, deduced it was from another government office further east. De la Bat was tempted to have the culprits apprehended by his rangers. For reasons of inter-departmental diplomacy, he decided not to pursue the matter and left the culprits to continue their journey. This decision probably saved the lives of the Islander’s crew. When the two exhausted men finally staggered to Rocky Point, they found their saviors fishing. Fortunately, they had a radio in the vehicle and could summon help. Had it not been for the illegal anglers, the aptly named Skeleton Coast would have claimed more victims.
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