SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage
May 12:
“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”
1882: Francesca, this wooden Italian sailing barque sprang a leak and was beached at Orient Beach in East London in the Eastern Cape and it is believed to have become a wreck.
1901: Hermes, this British steam-powered passenger/cargo ship dragged its anchors and was driven ashore on Milnerton Beach in Table Bay in the Western Cape, where it became a wreck.
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| The Hermes (1901) shortly after it wrecked, before being reduced by the power of the surf |
It had travelled from Argentina with a cargo of general stores and some livestock. Two female passengers drowned when a lifeboat overturned. The wreck now lies near the wreck of the Winton (1934) and it can still be seen from the shore and in aerial photographs.
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| The boiler of the Hermes (1901) that sticks out the most, November 2021. One can see inside of it and that it is heavily encrusted with marine life. |
The NSRI regularly receives reports of a distressed whale at the wreck location as the spray created by its boiler looks like the blow from a whale.
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| A stunning aerial image of the Hermes (1901) captured in 2015 |
1943: Piratiny, this steel Brazilian steam-powered cargo ship was on its final voyage from Rio de Janeiro to Table Bay when it wrecked near Hondeklip Bay in the Northern Cape because of a storm.
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| The Piratiny (1943) slowly rusting away |
Rumours at the time claimed that it was lost because of being torpedoed by the Germans. Its remains are still visible on the shore, forming part of the Diamond Coast Shipwreck 4x4 trail.
1967: Horizon, this motor-powered Dutch freighter ran aground and wrecked at full speed when the second mate fell asleep at the helm, at the Mngazi River mouth near Port St. Johns in the Eastern Cape.
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| The Horizon (1967) being battered by waves shortly after having run aground |
1973: Barcelona, this South African fishing vessel wrecked in heavy fog near Cape St. Francis in the Eastern Cape.
2017: Flee, this South African yacht wrecked at 16-mile beach, north of Yzerfontein off the west coast in the Western Cape.
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