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Portland Shipwrecks
The propeller and drive shaft of an old
wreck lie on the sea bed at Portland Bill. Just further out from this is
an old round storage tank and some of the hull. It lies in an area
locally known as Red Pond and is easily accessible by snorkellers. The
water here is very sheltered but as with all waters around Portland be
careful and know your limits. The wreck is about in line with the far
end of the beach huts to the east of Portland Bill and about half a mile
from the car park.
The last of the big sailing ships lost on
the Dorset Coast was the French vessel Madeleine Tristan, wrecked at
Portland in September 1930. She was on her way from L'Orient, Brittany
to Le Harve when gales in the channel blew her hopelessly off course.
The Madeleine Tristan remained beached in the Cove for five years
after she was wrecked. 'She was', recalled a local fisherman, 'the
finest prettiest sailing ship ever to come ashore on these coasts'.
Another view of the Madeleine Tristan.
The Dorothea ran aground on 14th February,
1914 between Abbotsbury and Langton Herring carrying iron ore from Spain
to Holland. She was carried broadside up the beach and the crew were
able to walk ashore at low tide.
The Dorothea remained dry on the beach for
two years before being
re-floated on an exceptionally high tide. After repairs she was went to
work cargo between London and Newcastle and while on a voyage in the
North Sea she struck a mine and sank. The crew were saved.
Waves pound the Dorothea.
Salvage vessel the SS Lyons stands by to
haul the Dorothea back into the water. She was pulled back into the
water by sliding her on large timbers placed beneath the keel, with a
tug at the bow and one at the stern.
Salvage Tug Ellida ashore on Chesil beach.
Admiralty trawler James Fennel stranded
between Chesil Cove and Hallelujah Bay 16th January 1920. She is now a
popular dive site, location 50 32.75N; 02 27.30W.
The German vessel Okahandja had to be
relieved of her cargo of iron ore after running aground beneath Blacknor
10th June 1910.
The Preveza wrecked in Chesil Cove 26th
January 1920.
The two sections of the Preveza on the
beach in Chesil Cove after it had broken up during a storm in 1920. The
boilers remained visible for many years.
The Russian schooner Emma Maria breaking
up on the Chesil on October 25th 1903 with cargo of fire-clay. The
barque Patria was wrecked on the same part of the beach on the following
day.
The Norwegian barque Patria in the process
of being destroyed on the Chesil in October 1903. The crew was taken off
by rocket line.
The Reliance was wrecked at Cave Hole,
Portland Bill in 1949. She had recently been restored by the Davisons
and had just set sail for Cuba. Mr Davison was lost along with his
yacht.
HMS Sidon sank after a terrific explosion
in Portland Harbour on 16th June 1955 with the loss of 13 crew.
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