SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage
February 17:
“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”
1857: Euridyce, this brig wrecked on North End beach in Port Elizabeth in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape after its cables parted during a south-easterly gale and the Euridyce struck the barque Alexandrina.
1940: Cheldale, this British steel steam-powered cargo ship was lost north east of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal after a collision with the Greystoke Castle. The Cheldale was steaming slowly towards Durban so as not to arrive before dawn and was apparently showing no lights.
The Cheldale (1940), date and location unknown
It was rammed between its No. 1 and 2 hatches, heeled steeply to the starboard, capsized, and sank within minutes with a huge gash in its side. Of the 35 lives on board, 16 were lost and the survivors were picked up by the Greystoke Castle.
1943: U-boats claimed two vessels in South African waters on this day, off the Eastern Cape coast:
• Deer Lodge, an unescorted American steam-powered merchant ship, was struck on its port side by two torpedoes fired from U-516 about 100 km from Port Elizabeth in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape.
The Deer Lodge (1943), date and location unknown
There were 57 lives on board of which 56 abandoned ship in three lifeboats and three rafts, with one person losing their life when a davit broke off a lifeboat and fell on him. The U-boat surfaced between the survivors, questioned them, and left. The survivors were picked up by the Africana, the Havorn, and the Atlantis, with the Deer Lodge foundering just off Bird Island in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape.
• Llanashe, this motor-powered cargo ship was torpedoed 50 km south of Port Elizabeth in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape by U-182. After being struck, it signalled that its crew were taking to the boats. The radio officer managed to send off the position in which the ship sank. Several life rafts hit the water, but only one of the lifeboats was launched. The men were in the water for several hours before making it onto the rafts.
The Llanashe (1943), date and location unknown
It took more than two days for the lifeboat to find a single raft, and it took a further 9 days before the Tarakan found the lifeboat and the other rafts. Of the 42 that were on board, only 16 managed to make it onto the life rafts and lifeboat. However, over the 11 days of waiting for rescue, some of the rafts capsized several times and ultimately only nine survived the ordeal. The Tarakan transferred the nine survivors to the HMS Carthage and HMS Racehorse which landed them in Cape Town on the 4th of March.
1966: Wayward, this South African fishing vessel foundered at sea off the northern KwaZulu-Natal coast.
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