1872: A south-easterly gale struck the southern coast of South Africa and resulted in the loss of seven vessels: Two in Mossel Bay in the Western Cape, four in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape, and one in East London in the Eastern Cape:
- Anne Marie, this French sailing barque wrecked at the Swartkops River mouth in Gqeberha/Port Elizabeth in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape. When the sands shift favourably, the outline of the wreck can supposedly be seen in aerial images.
- Annie Benn, this wooden sailing schooner wrecked in Mossel Bay in the Western Cape.
- Crixea, this wooden sailing barque wrecked on the west bank of the Buffalo River in East London in the Eastern Cape.
- Cruiser, this wooden sailing vessel was lost of the Gqeberha/Port Elizabeth coastline in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape.
- E B Lohe, this sailing brig wrecked along the Gqeberha/Port Elizabeth coastline in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape.
- Erin, this sailing barque/schooner wrecked in Mossel Bay in the Western Cape.
- Taurus, this sailing barque wrecked on the Gqeberha/Port Elizabeth coastline in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape with the loss of one life.
1942: Jeremiah Wadsworth, this steam-powered American Liberty ship was torpedoed and sunk by U-178 about 400km south of Cape L’Agulhas in the Western Cape. Two torpedoes struck at 14:35 and a third, fired at 14:44, just missed. The coup de grâce then followed which blew two life rafts and a lifeboat off the ship. The engines could not be secured before abandoning and the ship went down bow first, with the propellors still turning. The 57 on board made it into three lifeboats, which became separated after the first night. The first boat, with 20 survivors on board was picked up by an unknown allied ship and landed at Cape Town. The second boat, with 18 survivors on board was picked up by the HMS Alcantara and landed in Simons Town the following day. The third boat, with 19 survivors on board, was only picked up by the 3rd of December by the American ship John Lykes, and they were landed in Bermuda.
1942: Thomas T Tucker, this steam-powered American liberty ship wrecked at Olifantsbos Point on the Cape Peninsula in the Western Cape. At the time they were steaming close to the shore as to avoid German U-boats that were patrolling Cape waters. An investigation later found that the compass was off by 37 degrees and likely contributed to running too close to the shore. The wreckage can still be seen washed up, scattered on shore and the shipwreck trail in the Cape Point National Park is named after this wreck.
1947: President Reitz, this steam-powered liberty ship wrecked in dense fog east of the Tsitsikamma River mouth in the Eastern Cape. It was in ballast at the time to be delivered at Durban.
1955: Competitor, this motor-powered vessel wrecked on Bird Island in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape. Very little is known about this vessel.
