1722: Schoonenberg, this wooden sailing east Indiaman wrecked on a reef off Northumberland Point in the epynomous Schoonenberg Bay in the Western Cape. The captain was found guilty of negligence, and the cargo was later removed, with some of it having been stolen by that point, and the ship was burned down to the waterline. A legend emerged from the wrecking stating that the captain had conspired with local farmers and that a precious part of the cargo had been hidden at Vergelegen farm. This was however a fable that has since been proven untrue. The wreck remains were discovered by Charlie Shapiro in 1985. On 25 November 1985 shipwreck divers, Charlie Shapiro and Mike Keulemans found indications of a wreck while conducting a magnetometer survey on Northumberland reef at Struisbaai. A systematic study of the site in 1990 by a party led by Jimmy Herbert allowed the position of four anchors (including a bent dredge anchor) and 21 cannon to be mapped. Also, it brought to light eastern porcelain, pepper, three Dutch ‘IJssel’ bricks (small yellow bricks used to isolate the kitchen area with its fires from the ship’s wooden structure), pieces of molten lead and various household articles. This evidence, with historical records regarding the orientation of the wreck and its subsequent burning, convinced the researchers that the discovered wreck was indeed that of the Schoonenberg.
1867: Imogen, this wooden sailing barque wrecked in a south-easterly gale off the East London coastline in the Eastern Cape.
1900: Allegiance, this iron sailing barque exploded and foundered in the Atlantic Ocean after its cargo caught fire. The fire was detected on the 19th November and the crew abandoned ship once it was clear that the fire could not be extinguished. The barque exploded and sank a day later, on this day, and the crew were landed at Cape Town by the German ship Louise.
1926: Frontier, this steel steam-powered coaster wrecked on the Mzimvubu River bar in Port St. Johns in the Eastern Cape.
1942: U-177 claimed two ships off the eastern coastline, off KwaZulu-Natal, on this day:
- Scottish Chief, this British steam-powered ship was struck by two torpedoes in the early hours of the morning, which caused the ship to explode, killing 36 of the 48 lives on board. The survivors were picked up by the HMS Jasmine and HMS Genista and landed at Durban.
- Pierce Butler, this American steam-powered merchant vessel was struck at 11:40 by two torpedoes. The armed guards fired at the U-boat to keep it submerged while distress signals were sent. When the reply came from these, the 62 lives on board abandoned ship in four lifeboats. Although no coup de grâce was fired, the ship sank within 30 minutes of being abandoned. The HMS Fortune picked up the survivors the next day and landed them in Durban.
