SHIPWRECKS

SHIPWRECKS OF THE CAPE OF GOODHOPE

The Cape has featured in maritime history since ocean capable ships were developed. Phoenician sailors are said to have rounded it in about 600 BC and it may have been visited by Chinese explorers in the early 1400s. These events are unsubstantiated and the first recorded rounding of the Cape was by Bartelomeu Dias in 1488 when he named it The Cape of Good Hope (the story of his calling it the Cape of Storms and this name being changed by the King appears to have been a royal public relations exercise some 70 years later). Ever since, sea-borne traffic has provided an ongoing supply of shipwrecks. Violent storms and rough seas soon dispose of wrecks on this rugged coast.

Some remnants that can still be seen are:

The wreck of the Thomas Tucker                                                     photo : Stella Geel

which once looked like

Thomas T.Tucker: An American Liberty Ship that struck the rocks near Olifantsbos when the convoy in which it was sailing came under submarine attack on the night of 28 November 1942. Most of the cargo of war material, including tanks destined for the North African Front, was salvaged. You can read more in the display at the Buffelsfontein Visitor’s Centre. (Salvage 1943. Photo: Malcolm Turner Collection)

The wreck of the Nolloth

Nolloth: A Dutch coaster that struck a hidden rock near Olifantsbos in April 1965. The captain deliberately ran the sinking ship ashore to save life and avoid it being a total loss. Included in the cargo was a consignment of liquor that led to unofficial salvage attempts by members of the public. The Customs Department set up a camp near the wreck to discourage such private enterprise. (Salvage 1965. )  (Photo: Submerged Productions)

Phyllisia: A steam trawler wrecked at Hoek van Bobbejaan in rough weather in 1968. Some of the crew made their way ashore through the surf and the others were rescued the following day by Air Force helicopters. Lumps of coal may be found among the rocks.

(Maiden voyage –about 1960. Photo: Irvin & Johnson)

Tania: A fishing boat wrecked at Buffels Bay in 1972. Fragments of timber may be found and the ship’s wheel is displayed at the Visitors Centre.

Shir Yib: A floating-crane barge that came ashore at Dias beach in August 1970 after its tow broke in heavy weather.

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R 31: A former “crash boat” or air/sea rescue launch that had been sold out of service to become privately owned. It went ashore after engine failure some years afterwards. Portion of the lower hull lies in a closed area and is not accessible to the public.

(At sea – date unknown. Photo: S.A. Navy)

Other interesting wrecks, of which no known remains are visible, include:

Lusitania: A Portuguese mail ship that struck Bellows Rock near Cape Point at night on 18^th April 1911. No lives were lost in the actual wreck but a number of persons drowned when a lifeboat overturned in the surf while trying to land at Dias beach. This wreck was one of the factors in deciding to move the Cape Point Lighthouse from the top of Dias Peak (where it was often obscured by cloud) to its present lower site. (On Bellows rock. Photo: source unknown, public domain)

La Rosette: A French brig discovered abandoned and aground south of Olifantsbos in August 1786. It turned out that mutineers, who then holed and abandoned the vessel before making their way to land, had killed the officers and loyal members of the crew. Instead of sinking, the La Rosette drifted ashore and 6 mutineers were identified and arrested in Cape Town. One was sentenced to 10 years hard labour and the others executed by various grisly methods then in vogue.

Le Napoleon: A French privateer (a privately owned warship, authorized by a state to prey on the commerce of nations with which it was at war.) was pursued, driven into the surf and wrecked near Olifantsbos by the British frigate HMS Narcissus on Christmas Day of 1805. The fate of the crew is unknown but they are unlikely to have survived. (French vessel of the period.

Sketch: Wikipedia, public domain)

This is only a brief survey of known shipwrecks. Timbers and wreckage from unreported maritime tragedies are continually washed ashore on these coasts

(This information was compiled by Duncan McDermid)