MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The steel remains of a ship have once again been spotted on Dias Beach, this time by local Michael du Plessis, who was walking on the beach on Sunday morning, 8 September.
That area has two well-known shipwrecks that can be seen every few years, depending on tides. The ships were the Rosebud, shipwrecked 136 years ago in 1888, and King Cenric, in 1903.
Du Plessis told Mossel Bay Advertiser that while it could be the wreck of King Cenric, he wonders if it is not another wreck because he thinks the steel remains are from the hull of the ship.
The Advertiser previously reported in 2013 that local divers had dived to both wrecks and found that King Cenric is closer to the shore than Rosebud.
A trip to the Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex by the Advertiser uncovered that there are 45 shipwrecks on record between Gouritz River and Glentana. The first recorded shipwreck is near Cape St Blaize, recorded in 1505. The last recorded wreck is near Gouritz River in 1987.
The steel was found protruding from the sand on Dias Beach. Photo: Michael du Plessis
An article by the Advertiser published in 2021 reported that King Cenric was a 1 519-ton wooden Norwegian sailing ship. According to a 1903 article in the New Zealand newspaper, Poverty Bay Herald she was wrecked while on her voyage from Frederikstad, Norway, to Mossel Bay, with a cargo of Baltic timber.
The article reported the ship was stricken in a south-east gale, described as "a storm of terrifying fury" and that at least seven vessels went ashore that day.The article further reported that everyone on board was rescued.
According to South African History Online (www.sahistory.org.za), the Rosebud was a British three-masted wooden schooner, weighing 341 tons.
The area where Michael du Plessis spotted the remains of the wreck.
The ship was wrecked on Dias Beach, also during a south-east gale in 1888 while en route from Calcutta to London, carrying general cargo. No lives were lost during the incident.
A follow-up article to explore if the wreck found by Du Plessis is the Rosebud or King Cenric will be published next week.
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