Off the coast, underneath the waves, lie pieces of South African history.
From wooden trading ships that made the perilous journey between Europe and Asia, to modern passenger liners that carried tourists, migrants and explorers, each shipwreck has a story to tell.
Drawing on research from scanning technology and on-site dives, Wood, Iron and Steel presents 60 shipwrecks that reflect the diverse maritime history of the Western Cape. Read an extract below.
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Wreckless Marine’s shipwreck mapping project
Wreckless Marine is a private marine research company based in Cape Town. It was established in 2020 to pursue its founder’s passion for the ocean, and to facilitate marine research through collaboration with like-minded institutions and individuals such as marine biologists, geoscientists, and maritime archaeologists. The company owns and operates three vessels and a fully equipped technical dive centre. Its flagship is the research and survey vessel, Wreckless II, a 13m catamaran.
Wreckless II, a 13m Bobkat, moored at the marina in the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town. (Image: Supplied)
The survey set-up aboard Wreckless II, with Grant Whitford at the helm. (Image: Supplied)
Since its establishment, Wreckless Marine has conducted extensive high-resolution seafloor mapping off the Western Cape coast, and contributed data to a number of institutions, including Gebco’s (General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans) Seabed 2030 project, the Council for Geoscience coastal mapping programme, the South African Heritage Resource Agency, the South African Navy Hydrographic Office, and the South African National Biodiversity Institute.
The locations of several wrecks featured in Wood, Iron and Steel were already well known although, in some instances, the recorded positions were inaccurate. In addition, many previously unknown wrecks were detected during systematic seabed mapping by Wreckless Marine and the Council for Geoscience, and some specific wrecks were searched for. Once the wrecks were located, Wreckless Marine undertook special mapping operations to acquire detailed data on each wreck. Thereafter, extensive research was undertaken to identify all newly discovered wrecks.
Several vessels are known to have been scuttled in Table Bay in the 1960s and 1970s, but recordkeeping at the time was poor and positions often went unrecorded. Old images and general arrangements of these vessels were retrieved from archives and compared with the detailed multibeam echo sounder images of the wrecks.
In addition, extensive “groundtruthing” was carried out by the Wreckless Marine dive team. Factors used to identify wrecks include the location, vessel dimensions, number and location of distinguishing features (superstructure, masts, trawl gallows), hawse configurations (round, square, recessed or flush), boilers, engines and propellers. In some instances, identifications could not be verified with certainty, and these wrecks have been marked as “possibly”.
Many wrecks have yet to be identified.
Divers preparing for a backward roll from Wreckless, a 7.3 m Gemini RIB. Image: Supplied
Divers entering from the stern of Wreckless II, a 13 m Bobkat. Image: Supplied
Divers exiting on the diver lift on Wreckless II. Image: Supplied
A typical display on the MBES data acquisition computer. Images: Supplied
Het Huis te Craijestein, lying 120m off the rocks in Oudekraal since 1698.
Het Huis te Craijestein (’t Huis ’t Kraaijenstein) was a 1154-ton Dutch pinas (square-rigged galleon), built in 1697 in Middelburg, for the Zeeland Chamber of the Dutch East India Company (VOC).
In 1698, on its maiden voyage, Het Huis te Craijestein was commanded by Jan van de Vijver, and carried a cargo of 19 chests of pieces of eight. On 27 May, it arrived in Table Bay.
At about 9pm, heavy mist rolled in, obscuring all sight of land and, as a precaution, the crew anchored and waited for daybreak. Captain Van de Vijver was later awakened by loud calls and a commotion on deck. He quickly went on deck and discovered that the anchor warp had chafed through. The ship had drifted a significant distance, and the sound of the surf was audible. The crew launched a boat to try to pull the ship out of danger, but as soon as it was lowered, it was filled by sailors who were determined to save themselves. They rowed away, abandoning Het Huis te Craijestein.
One of the old ‘Het Huis’ anchors on the sandy bottom. (Photo: Justin Groombridge / Supplied)
Wooden frames and substantial sections of timber are visible among the rocks and kelp at the wreck site. (Photo: Justin Groombridge / Supplied)
Wooden frames and substantial sections of timber are visible among the rocks and kelp at the wreck site. Photo: Justin Groombridge / Supplied
While the remaining crew attempted to lower another anchor, the ship struck the rocks and shuddered. The rocks tore off the rudder, creating a large hole in the stern. The ship then ran aground, causing the stern to rapidly fill with water and flood the cabin up to the level of the stern window.
Fortunately, the ship was protected from the force of the sea by the same rocks that had torn off the rudder. As daybreak came and the tide receded, the remaining sailors made their way to the shore, taking the most valuable part of the cargo, 16 of the money chests. Meanwhile, the sailors in the rowing boat managed to reach a French ship that was anchored in the bay, which later landed them safely at the Cape.
On the night of the wrecking, Governor Simon van der Stel was awakened by gunfire. After confirming that the Cape was not under attack, he ordered soldiers to investigate and provide assistance. The following morning, a soldier who had crossed Kloof Nek the previous night reported that the Dutch East Indiaman Het Huis te Craijestein had run aground on the rocks. Governor van der Stel sent Commander Bergh, a salvage expert, with a group of soldiers to the wreck.
Upon arrival, it was low tide, and an extensive search was carried out for the missing three money chests. The men at the scene concluded that the money chests had broken free of their clamps and crashed through the stern window into the sea. Upon further investigation, this opinion was retracted, and it was determined that the three chests had been plundered.
Read more: A shipwreck road trip – in search of swimming pigs and rusty memories
Known locally as “Het Huis”, the wreck is located at Oudekraal, about 120m off the shoreline, at a depth of between eight and 10m. Although the wreck has broken up completely, a substantial section of the timber, as well as several anchors and cannons, can be found strewn across the site. The wreckage is scattered over a shallow area of rocky coves and dense kelp forest, making it unsafe to survey. The site is popular for shore entry dives, and access to the water is easy. DM
Wood, Iron and Steel by Bruce Henderson and Kelly Graham is published by Quickfox Publishing.
Bruce Henderson has been diving and sailing since the 1980s. At the end of 2021, he retired from his position as CEO of a large South African food business and took on a full-time role at his marine research company, Wreckless Marine. Bruce is a licensed PADI divemaster, an IANTD technical dive instructor with trimix certifications for open and closed-circuit diving, a SAMSA Category (Offshore) skipper for vessels over 9m, and an SAS Yacht Master. He holds a BA LLB from the University of Natal, and an MBA from the University of Cape Town.
Kelly Graham is an IANTD-qualified technical diver. To pursue her passion for local shipwrecks, she joined the Wreckless Marine team as a researcher. She is particularly interested in the use of digitisation technologies, and intellectual property for heritage research and dissemination. She holds a SAMSA Category C (Inshore) skipper’s certification. After graduating with an LLM from the University of Cape Town, she entered private practice as a commercial litigator, before becoming a legal consultant.
Lloyd Mote
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