South Africa: Oliphant, Ann & Eliza, Tarleton, Reflector, Sembilan & Mauritius 2 shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

April 17:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1656: Oliphant, this Dutch wooden sailing vessel wrecked in Table Bay in the Western Cape.

1796: Ann & Eliza, this wooden sailing ship wrecked in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape. Only five of the 40 on board survived.

1818: Tarleton, this British ship wrecked near the Castle in Table Bay in the Western Cape. Very little is known about it.

1851: Reflector, this British wooden sailing barque wrecked on a reef off St Helena Bay in the Western Cape. There is however one report that claims it sprung a leak and was lost near Saldanha Bay instead.

1943: Sembilan, this Dutch steam-powered cargo ship was sunk by the Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci south east of Port Shepstone in KwaZulu-Natal, over 300 km from the shore.

The Sembilan (1943), date and location unknown

It was loaded with munitions and exploded when it was struck by a torpedo. Only one crew member survived of the complement of 86. The Leonardo da Vinci would terrorize the eastern coastline of South Africa for the next week, claiming a further three ships.

1980: Mauritius 2, this motor-powered freighter foundered offshore, north of Durban off the KwaZulu-Natal coast.

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South Africa: Nossa Senhora dos Milagros, Penelope, Apollo & Walsingham shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

Unknown shipwreck, Skeleton Coast, Namibia

April 16:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1686: Nossa Senhora dos Milagros, this Portuguese East Indiaman wrecked near Cape Agulhas in the Western Cape at night. The exact number of people that were on board is unknown, but it is believed that there were approximately 131 survivors that made it back to Cape Town. It is also believed that less than 10 people drowned during the wrecking, but several people died from exhaustion on the journey overland to Cape Town. The Portuguese realised the state of the loss and sold the wreck and its contents at a loss to the VOC. One person died during the salvage operations that ensued. It is because of the salvage of this wreck that Olof Bergh was imprisoned for three and a half years on Robben Island and thereafter sent to Ceylon in ‘semi-exile’ as he pleaded guilty to having sold off valuable cargo from the wreck for personal gain when it belonged to the VOC.

1809: Penelope, this wooden sailing schooner was caught smuggling, and the HMS Olympia forced it into Table Bay in the Western Cape, where it wrecked on Milnerton Beach.

1823: Apollo, this wooden sailing ship wrecked late at night, below the Mouille Point Battery in Table Bay in the Western Cape. A signal gun was fired when it ran aground which killed one man. Several boats were sent to render assistance and after discharging the cargo attempts were made to refloat it. At 4pm it was decided that the vessel would be lost, so the masts were cut, and the vessel was left to become a wreck.

1829: Walsingham, this wooden sailing barque wrecked near the Military Hospital on Woodstock Beach in Table Bay in the Western Cape. Some reports list the wrecking in 1828 and instead have the wrecking occurring in June.

2002: An Airquarius Aviation Hawker Siddeley HS-748 2B (registration no. SZ-OLE), suffered a complete hydraulic failure in the air and whilst landing at the Pilanesberg Airport, it veered off the runway and into ditch causing substantial damage to the airplane. The 47 occupants were however uninjured.

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South Africa: Sir William Heathcote, Flying Fish & Star of the East shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

Benguela Eagle shipwreck in Namibia

April 15:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1841: Sir William Heathcote, this wooden sailing vessel wrecked on the sandbank in the Breede River mouth in the Western Cape.

1854: Flying Fish, this sailing schooner wrecked whilst trying to enter Port Nolloth in the Northern Cape.

1905: Star of the East, this steel steam-powered fishing trawler wrecked near Kayser’s Beach in the Eastern Cape.

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South Africa: Kingfisher, Vrystaat shipwrecks & Magnum Swearington SA226 Metro II ZS-KYA

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

April 14:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1928: Kingfisher, this iron steam-powered trawler’s mooring cable snapped during a south-easterly gale and it drifted onto Santos Beach in Mossel Bay in the Western Cape, where it wrecked. There is an alternative date of wrecking for the 9th of April instead.

1976: Vrystaat, this steam-powered frigate was scuttled (torpedoed by the submarine SAS Maria van Riebeeck as a practice target) southwest of Cape Point off the Cape Peninsula in the Western Cape.

The SAS Vrystaat (1976) entering Durban Harbour, date unknown

It has been reported to the unit that this was the first time in the SA Navy’s history that a live torpedo firing was carried out in SA waters by a South African crewed submarine.

The SAS Vrystaat (1976) going under after the successful torpedoing

The SA Naval Museum has a model of the SAS Vrystaat (1976) on display

1982: A Magnum Swearington SA226 Metro II (registration no. ZS-KYA), this scheduled revenue flight is recorded as having crashed somewhere in South Africa with no loss of lives. Very little is known about the incident.

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South Africa: Ospray shipwreck & Barlow Beechcraft 200 Super King Air ZS-KMT

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

April 13:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1855: Ospray, this sailing schooner wrecked in St. Sebastian Bay, somewhere between Jongensfontein and Cape Infanta in the Western Cape.

1950: A SAAF Short Sunderland GR.5 (registration no. 1706), this flying boat patrol bomber swung after takeoff and crashed. Very little is known about the event.

1706 at Congella, Durban, date unknown

1987: A Barlow Beechcraft 200 Super King Air (registration no. ZS-KMT), this twin turboprop aircraft crashed on the dorms of the Germiston Mining Employees near the Rand Airport in Gauteng. There were two instructors and three student pilots on board, when during the climb after takeoff, the instructor simulated an engine failure, but the aircraft stalled and could not be recovered before it crashed. Three of the crew of five were lost their lives and there were no on the ground casualties.

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South Africa: HMS Guardian, Maria, L’Ecole & Augusta shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

April 12:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1790: Guardian, this 44-gun wooden sailing transport sloop struck an Iceberg in dense fog near the southwest Indian Ocean Ridge on the 24th of December whilst transporting convicts and provisions to New South Wales, Australia. It set off from the Cape of Good Hope with a crew size of 123 of which 25 were convicts.

Dramatization of the HMS Guardian's crew escaping on the boats after striking the iceberg, by Robert Dodd, July 1st 1790

The following day, after having struck the iceberg with the ship seeming beyond rescue, numerous attempts were made asking the captain to abandon ship. The captain allowed the boats to be launched and about half of the crew made it onto them. However, the captain, along with a crew of 60 remained on board and managed to repair the sloop to the point of floating and it was mercifully carried by the wind the entire 2000 km back to the Cape of Good Hope. After several arduous weeks at sea, what remained of the Guardian reached the Cape of Good Hope and the captain sent a letter on the 15th of March expressing his intent to ground the sloop in Saldanha Bay so that the Guardian and its cargo may be rescued. Unfortunately, a gale wind forced it into False Bay where it was wrecked on the beach on this day.

Title page of the account of the HMS Guardian's wrecking by its captain, Lieut. Riou, 1808

The wrecking after this gale did not result in the loss of lives. However, of the 63 passengers that were loaded onto the boats on the 25th of December, only one boat with 15 passengers on board was ever rescued. The French merchant ship, Viscountess de Bantannie picked up this boat on the 3rd of January, between 100-500 km (pending the account) east of KwaZulu-Natal. 

1790: Maria, this wooden sailing barque wrecked near the Salt River mouth in Table Bay in the Western Cape. It was anchored in the bay when a great north-westerly gale parted it from its cables, and it was driven ashore where it wrecked. It was one of 7 ships to have been driven ashore during this gale, but the only one which could not be refloated. 

1829: L’Ecole, this wooden sailing vessel wrecked just north of the Inxaxo River mouth near Sandy Point in the Eastern Cape. Reports vary, but it is believed that between 13-30 people were lost due to the wrecking. 

1988: The Wild Goose, this United Air Douglas DC-3C (registration no. ZS-UAS) twin engine charter airplane had an in-flight fire and crashed during the emergency descent in an open field in Hennenman in the Free State with the airplane disintegrating and all 24 occupants losing their lives. The official investigation could not find any maintenance or crew errors and the speculation was that the fire may have been caused by a fuel booster pump failing. The passengers consisted of jockeys and their trainers. 

1993: Augusta, this South African motor-powered fishing vessel foundered in a storm east of Cape Agulhas in the Western Cape. All 12 that were on board were lost.

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South Africa: Umvolosi, Rocket, Phil, Harvest Taurus, Galbashe, Tigo, Fetlar, Harry, Misty Moon, Sea Lion & Silver Reaper shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

April 11:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1890: Umvolosi, this British steel steam-powered cargo ship was run aground, but could not be repaired/refloated and became a wreck, near the Kleinemonde River’s mouths in the Eastern Cape. It struck a submerged rock, presumably Three Sister’s Rock, and to prevent it from sinking in deeper water, it was run aground.

1905: Rocket, this British wooden sailing schooner wrecked about 16 km east of the Keiskamma River mouth, possible near Kidd’s Beach, in the Eastern Cape.

1970: Phil, this South African motor-powered fishing vessel foundered off Quoin Point in the Western Cape.

1989: Harvest Taurus, this South African motor-powered fishing vessel was scuttled by the South African Navy south of Cape Point in the Western Cape.

1992: Galbashe, this South African motor-powered fishing vessel foundered at sea after it sprung a leak in the engine room, about 60 km from Cape Town off the Cape Peninsula in the Western Cape.

1992: Tigo, this sailing yacht foundered after it sprung a leak and the pumps failed, just off Vondeling Island near Saldanha Bay in the Western Cape.

1993: A strong south-easterly storm struck False Bay in the Western Cape and claimed five vessels:

The storm of 1993 caused havoc in Kalk Bay. An 80-year-old jetty was also destroyed in the storm, and nearby buildings had their windows broken by the pounding waves

• Fetlar, this fishing vessel wrecked just outside of Kalk Bay Harbour

• Harry, this crayfish boat wrecked in Kalk Bay Harbour

• KB 90, this fishing vessel wrecked in Kalk Bay Harbour

2016 winter storm in Kalk Bay

• Misty Moon, this sailing yacht wrecked on Long Beach in Simon's Town

• Sea Lion, this fishing vessel wrecked in Kalk Bay Harbour

2008: Silver Reaper, this South African fishing vessel foundered near Jacob’s Reef, off the St Helena Peninsula off the west coast in the Western Cape.

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South Africa: Dido, Mocha, Star of the East & Albatross shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

April 10:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

Kolmanskop shipwreck in Namibia

1853: Dido, this sailing barque wrecked on a reef off Mouille Point in Table Bay in the Western Cape.

1853: Mocha, this sailing barque caught alight and sank between Bird and St Croix Islands in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape.

1861: Star of the East, this wooden sailing ship wrecked at one of three possible locations in the Western Cape, pending the report: Ryspunt north of Arniston, Port Beaufort near the Breede River mouth, or seemingly most likely at Ystervarkpunt west of the Gouritz River mouth.

1863: Albatross, this steam-powered tug foundered after striking the eponymous Albatross Rock near Olifantsbos on the Cape Peninsula in the Western Cape.

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South Africa: Bruydegom, Israel, Theresina, Juno, Tandeka & Sail Fisher shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

April 9:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

Eduard Bohlen shipwreck in Namibia

1674: Bruydegom, this wooden sailing vessel struck a rock between Meeu Island and Schaapen Island in the Langebaan lagoon in the Western Cape. It then drifted into the shallower parts of the lagoon, finally foundering in Kraal Bay. It had a cargo of limestone and shells on board and was waiting for favourable winds to head back to Cape Town.

1847: Israel, this wooden sailing barque (a whaler) had its cables part during a north-westerly gale and it wrecked on Salt River Beach in Table Bay in the Western Cape. It had originally entered Table Bay for fresh water.

1878: Theresina, this wooden sailing vessel’s anchor cable parted during an east-north-easterly gale and it wrecked on Back Beach in Durban in KwaZulu-Natal. The crew were saved using a rocket apparatus as quicksand apparently engulfed the vessel and its cargo rapidly. The cargo included a deluxe bus. Many attempts to get it out of the wreck failed, and the ship and cargo eventually disappeared beneath the sand. However, the masts stuck out and it could still be observed at high tide. In 1913/14 the wreck was temporarily exposed, and attempts were made to get the bus out, but these were also unsuccessful. A wreck was demolished in 1936 on Back Beach and it is suspected that it may have been the Theresina.

1885: Juno, this sailing schooner foundered south of the Orange River off the west coast in the Northern Cape. A fire broke out on board late at night on the 8th and it was abandoned the morning of the 9th. It foundered shortly after. When the crew of 21 attempted to land, their boat capsized in the surf, and only four survived.

1977: Tandeka, this ferro-cement sailing yacht wrecked east of the Dassen Island Lighthouse off the west coast in the Western Cape.

1977: An outboard motor-powered dinghy (name unknown) was lost at sea with two people on board off Hout Bay in the Western Cape. 

2002: Sail Fisher, this fishing trawler, whilst returning from catching hake, ran aground on a rock and sank in House Bay on Dassen Island in the Western Cape. The crew of 10 got off safely and divers managed to pump off 400 litres of diesel fuel. The superstructure and debris were also removed so that the wreck would not pose a danger.

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