SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage
July 5:
“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”
1647: Nossa Senhora de Atalaia do Pinheiro, this wooden Portuguese galleon (referred to as a four-deck carrack in one text) was beached violently near the Cefane River mouth in the Eastern Cape and wrecked. It was sailing with the Santíssimo Sacramento back to Portugal along the South African coast in rough conditions. In June, rough winds caused its topmast to break, and they requested the Sacramento to stay with them. Conditions were tough, with at least 20 deaths having occurred between the two vessels. Then, on the 12th of June a massive storm battered the vessels, and they became separated, with the Atalaia sustaining more damage. Debate broke out on board the Atalaia about whether to head back to Lorenco Marques (modern-day Maputo) or to continue onwards to Portugal.
Under a National Monument's Council Permit, several artefacts were raised from the wreck site of the Nossa Senhora de Atalaia do Pinheiro (1647) in 1980. Nowadays though, regulations are informed by best practice, which prefers in situ preservation of wreck resources unless necessary for the purposes of research and protection. This image shows one of the cannons underwater with a lift bag (top right) and then it being lifted onto the salvage vessel (main image)
The terrible condition of the vessel resulted in the decision to rather beach it as soon as possible. They tacked closer to shore and attempted to beach the vessel but instead, they struck a shoal and became stranded on the 2nd of July. They spent the next few days unloading cargo to the shore in boats, but then, on this day, early in the morning, a storm claimed the stranded vessel, resulting in the drowning of at least 50 people. Several survivors were already on the shore, and some managed to reach the shore from the violently wrecking vessel. Cries were heard the following day from the wreck, but nobody was brave enough to attempt to reach the wreck and these eventually subsided. The survivors set up camp with the hopes that the Sacramento might find them, unaware that the Sacramento had met a similar fate a few days earlier. After about 2 weeks, they started the arduous overland journey to Lorenco Marques. On the journey, many perished and many more injured were left behind (exact numbers are unknown). They also found the survivors of the Sacramento wreck and reached Lorenco Marques on the 5th of January 1648. The wreck site was discovered in 1980 and under an old National Monument’s Council permit, 23 of the bronze cannon and other artefacts were raised, with several of the artefacts being donated to the East London Museum. On a nearby raised sand dune, the campsite was discovered and excavated by Simon Hall of the then Albany Museum.
1883: Rona, this full-rigged British ship was abandoned in a sinking condition after being dismasted in a storm off Cape St Francis in the Eastern Cape. The tug Searle picked up one of the boats with 9 men on board whilst the other boat, with 14 men on board could not be found so they left. The Germania however encountered the second boat, and all were rescued. It is assumed that the Rona foundered shortly after.
1900: Ashlands, this British steel steam-powered ship was lost on a moonlit night when it struck and became stranded to become a wreck on Dodington Rock, just south of Bird Island in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape.
The Norwegian barque Edderside (1919), date and location unknown
1919: Edderside, this Norwegian barque sank after a collision with the steam-powered ship Themistocles in dense fog 150 km south east of Cape Agulhas in the Western Cape. Although 13 survivors were picked up by the Themistocles, seven could not be found and were presumed drowned. The Themistocles only sustained minor damage and returned to Cape Town.
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