I was updating a previous post about famous ships of Newfoundland and Labrador and noted that many of these ships sank or were lost in storms. There are many aspects to these events and to how they shaped our history, from the Independence Hurricane of 1775 to the deaths of the sealers from the ships Newfoundland and Southern Cross in late March of 1914 (which killed 251 men, as compared to the 255 who died, and the 91 who went missing, at Beaumont Hamel two years later). First, the 1775 hurricane killed about 4000 people, destroyed the French fishing boats and crews at St. Pierre et Miquelon, destroyed a British fishing fleet on the Grand Banks, and devastated many of the outports. The resultant loss of British fisherman available for Navy service hurt the British response to the American Independence movement, and may be part of the reason that this storm is called the Independence Hurricane in the U.S. The sealers on the Newfoundland and Southern Cross were demonstratively young and adventurous, since sealing was inherently dangerous; hopping around on ice pans and living on often rickety boats during March storms is not for the faint-hearted. Many of these men would probably have volunteered for the war, and their deaths also contributed to the lack of young men at the end of the war. There were about 1200 Newfoundland soldiers who died during the war, and the 251 sealers lost on March 31, 1914 amounts to over 20% of the Newfoundland war dead through the entire conflict.
This will be a roughly chronological list of notable marine disasters and ship losses from discovery to modern times either in our waters or significant to our history. There will also be comments on obvious impacts on Newfoundland, Labrador, and the rest of the world. If anyone wants to comment or to contribute new information, I’d really appreciate it.
Our course through history:
- 1498: John Cabot’s second expedition to North America. One source indicates that the expedition was lost at sea.
- 1501: Gaspar Corte-Real, who vanished in 1501 on a voyage to Newfoundland.
- 1565?: Basque whaler in Red Bay, Labrador, which may be the San Juan.
- 1696: HMS Sapphire : Trapped in Bay Bulls Harbour by a French attacking force, she was scuttled to prevent capture. She is a Provincial Historic Site and has produced much archaeological insight into naval life of the times. This was during one of the main periods of French-English conflict in Newfoundland.
- 1775: Independence Hurricane mentioned above. It hit the South Coast and passed near Conception Bay on September 9. It is also the most deadly hurricane to hit Canada or Newfoundland in recorded history. (see introduction).
- 1810-1870: Sealing Deaths. It is estimated that between 1810 and 1870 the Newfoundland seal fishery lost some 400 vessels and 1000 men in the ice floes.
- 1828: Despatch: Ann Harvey of Isle aux Morts, her father, herbrother, and the Newfoundland Dog named Hairyman saved over 180 Irish immigrants from the wreck of the brig Despatch. The Royal Humane Society issued a special medal for heroism for Ann. In 1938, she and her father also saved a number of people from the Rankin, wrecked at the same spot as the Despatch. Isle aux Morts was so dangerous to shipping that throughout her life she and the other settlers were burying bodies that washed ashore.In 1987, the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Ann Harvey was commisioned.
- 1847: Hurricane hits Newfoundland, kills 300.
- 1875: Waterwitch : Wrecked near Pouch Cove. When the ship went aground in a storm with 25 people on board, Alfred Moores, a resident, performed a daring rescue which saved 11 people. He allowed himself to be lowered to the ship by a rope from an overhanging cliff so that he could carry the people to safety.
- 1898: Greenland Disaster: A sealing steamer. 48 men from her died on the ice in 1898 when a major storm blew in. The ice closed up and prevented the Greenland from closing on the sealers on the ice, while at the same time an interior lead of water kept the sealers from approaching the ship. There was also some discussion of the behaviour of Captain Abram Kean, who was in the area commanding another sealing vessel. Kean later became infamous for his role in the Newfoundland Disaster sixteen years later.
- 1912: Titanic: Sank April 14-15, 1914 after hitting an iceberg 400 miles from St. John’s. The main Newfoundland link to the disaster is the wireless station at Cape Race, which received and relayed the distress messages from the ship. Also, two years after the International Ice Patrol was founded to track icebergs and ship safety regulations were beefed up
- 1914: Newfoundland Disaster: The sealing disaster in March, 1914 where 78 sealers died and 11 were permanently disabled. It is poignantly described in Cassie Brown’s Death on the Ice. (see introduction)
- 1914: Southern Cross Disaster: This is the one that many people (including myself) forget. She was lost with all hands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence during the same storm that caught the sealers from the Newfoundland on the ice at night. She was last sighted by the SS Portia near Cape Pine, and was never seen again. This counts as the single largest loss of life in the history of the seal hunt, with 173 souls being lost. Combined with the 78 deaths from the Newfoundland, at least 251 people died from the same storm. If you compare that to the casualties from Beaumont Hamel, it adds a new perspective to the dangers involved in sealing. On July 1, 1916, the Royal Newfoundland Regiment bravely attempted a frontal assault on the German front in what is considered the worst military disaster in the history of Newfoundland. 255 were killed, 386 were wounded, and 91 were listed as missing in action and presumed dead.
- 1918: Florizel : the well-known steamer owned by the Bowring Brothers Ltd. went aground at Horn Head near Cappahayden on the Southern Shore of Newfoundland . The SOS was received at the Admiralty wireless station. Ninety-three crew and passengers perished, while 44 were miraculously rescued after 27 hours spent braving punishing seas and bitter cold. The Peter Pan Statue in Bowring Park is in honour and memory of a little girl who died on board.
- 1919:Ethie : On November 17 this coastal steamer, commanded by Captain Edward English, went aground during a gale at Martins Point on the West Coast near Bonne Bay. Local fisherman were able to get line to the ship and to rescue most or all of the passengers and crew. There were also reports of a Newfoundland dog towing a rescue line out to the boat, and this became part of a children’s book by Hilary Hyland.
- 1929: Tsunami on November 18. A 5 metre tsunami was generated by an underwater landslide south od Newfoundland, triggered by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake on the continental slope. Twenty-seven people died, and boats, houses, and stages were swept away. While this is the only significant earthquake recorded in Atlantic Canada, it is also the most deadly such event recorded in Canada or Newfoundland. The underwater landslide also cut numerous underwater telegraph and telephone lines, and the timing of when each line cut out allowed scientists to estimate the speed and severity of the landslide. However, it also cut the community off from the rest of civilisation during cold and miserable weather. Three days later the coastal vessel SS Portia arrived, and immediately sent an SOS to St. John’s.
- 1931: Viking Disaster: The Viking (a wooden ship built in 1881), exploded while shooting footage for the sealing film The Viking . Film producer Varrick Frissel and 26 others died in the explosion. A number of sealers made it to Horse Islands. However, there were insufficient supplies, shelter or medical equipment to keep the men alive for long. Rescue ships, including the salvage tug Foundation Franklin and the Reid coastal steamer Sagona took on supplies and medical personnel and raced to the area. However they were delayed both by a raging gale and by the ice, which had driven in around the island. Here is a transcript of documents from the time of the disaster. This was the first, but by no means the last, time Newfoundland and Newfoundlanders were involved with the Franklin.
- 1932: Neptune II: Schooner that was commanded by Captain Joe Barbour of Newtown on the Northeast Coast. While not really a wreck, the ship was driven by several successive storms from Newfoundland to Scotland, with the crew of 11 being tossed and turned for 48 days, as described in this book.
- 1942: Bell Island’s U-boat casualties (Saganaga,Lord Strathcona, P.L.M. 27, Rose Castle): these were bulk iron ore carriers sunk at or near Lance Cove on Bell Island in Conception Bay. Bell Island has the dubious distinction of being the site of the only artillery fired in defense of North America in the Second World War, due to these attacks.
- 1942: World War Two Submarines: At least 3 U-boats and one British submarine sank within 250 nm of St. John’s. The type IX U-656 sank about 25 miles from Cape Race, and the British P-514 was rammed by a merchant vessel near Cape St. Mary’s.
- 1942: CaribouDisaster: One of the most famous of the ferries running between Newfoundland and Canada. It was torpedoed by U-boat U-69 on October 14, 1942, during the critical period of the Battle of the Atlantic. 147 passengers and crew lost their lives. The skipper Ben Taverner and his two sons went down with the ship. The coastal boat Taverner was named after him.
- 1942: USS Truxton and Pollux: (much of this is a direct quote from SkylarkD, and this entry is due to her kind suggestion) These two U.S. Navy ships ran aground near St. Laurence, Newfoundland on February 18th, 1942. 203 sailors died; 185 were saved. Well, it turns out that there was only one African American survivor of the U.S.S. Truxton, named Lanier Philips, and he says that it was the hospitality he received from the people of Newfoundland after the disaster which led him to become a civil rights leader for equality for all races in the U.S. military.
- 1977: William Carson: An Icebreaking passenger/car ferry. Commissioned in 1955, it was a huge ferry for its time. For the first two years it couldn’t dock at Port aux Basques, and used Argentia until docking facilities were expanded. In 1977 she was struck by a small Iceberg near Battle Harbour, Labrador, and sank with no hands aboard (no one died). Joan Morrissey wrote a fairly funny song about he Carson and its importance to the province.
- 1982: Ocean Ranger: At the time the largest semi-submersible oil rig in the world. On February 15, 1982 she sank with all hands. The supply vessel Seaforth Highlander was almost able to rescue some, but they failed by mere feet. As a result of this disaster the offshore oil industry has been changed, with changes in rig design, operational procedures, safety equipment, and extensive emergency and lifeboat training.
General References and Links:
- Northern Shipwrecks Database: a well-researched database. This is a sampling of some results for Newfoundland. I’ll probably get the CD at some point.
- Iceberg collision with Ship database: This is a fascinating list of collisions, which includes some strange events. There’s an updated version here. To date they have recorded 680 separate events. The research looks relatively solid.
- Newfoundland Fishermen Lost at Sea: A large list from the 1800’s through 1941. Probably not complete, but useful.
- They That Go Down to the Sea in Ships : A list from the Trinity Historical Society. Includes many images and documents from the times of the wrecks, as well as data on many of the ships.
- Shipwreck songs of Newfoundland and Labrador: Include background material of the wrecks the songs were based on.
- Geological disasters in Newfoundland and Labrador: Avalanches, flooding, landslides, etc.
- Canadian Disasters: an ongoing database including events from 1583 onwards. I’m not sure of the accuracy or comprehensiveness of this listing.
I’m researching a shipwreck in 1866 on the vessell Damsel on
a journey to Newfoundland from Labrador. My relative James Costello was born during the ship wreck. I have a newspaper article but don’t know any more details ???? Any comments …
I’ve personally never heard of it. However, there is a database of Atlantic shipwrecks that may give you a starting place. It is called the Northern Shipwrecks Database. Here are some useful links.
Informations sources for shipwrecks:
http://www.northernmaritimeresearch.com/ResearchingCanadianShipwrecks.html
Northern Shipwrecks Database:
http://www.northernmaritimeresearch.com/
Finally, the Maritime History Archive at Memorial University may give you some more personal help and advice:
http://www.mun.ca/mha/holdings/shipwrec.php
Hi i am doing an assigment on the S.S Kyle , i know that she ran aground on a sand bar at the end of harbour in harbour grace and that she helped assisnt in the two navy vessels the poulloz and the truxton . I also know that she helped in the transalantic disaster when a plane went down and the S.S Kyle gatherd the carnage of the wreck. Also that there was a mustang abored her when she ran aground and that people use to go abored her and take the brass off the door knobs and stuff . i was wondering could you give me a bit more information i have been at the Kyle site i was abored her me and my pop toook the boat and left from placentia and went over there i have loads of pictures and stuff but im a little short on the information i have stories and accounts of the day that it happend but once again i need some more information it would be greaty arpiceated
any one who has any information on some shipwrecks around the avolon peninsula can u please e-mail me at squires_222@hotmail.com
thank you
I read the book death on the ice and i needed to know the conditions of equipment that the government provided to the men that ended up perishing on the ice,. thank you.
Hi all…
Am fairly new to this forum + just wanted to introduce myself and say “Hi”.
Bye for now.
Athena
~ Online Swingers
I was born Little Bay Islands, Notre Dane Bay, 1936. I remember the Kyle as a kid, we would be on the governement wharf when she made her usual call. I also remember the time that she was ice bound in Little Bay Islands during her spring arrival. I also remember the brass stair rails, she was no doubt a first class vessel for her time.
Just wanted to bring to your attention of an error on your page. The RMS Titanic sank on April 15, 1912 and not in 1914 as is stated.
Please update your site…the Titanic sank in 1912, not 1914
Whoops, World War I was on my mind that day.
Hi Im looking for any info on the ship Weaver Belle… it sank traveling from Britan to NL my GG Father was the captain Capt Fredrick Geroge Smith. I know very little
I have the orginal painting of the ship
Hope some one can help me
reply phamton@shaw.ca
thanks so much
does anyone know where i can find full caulties for these wreks im looking into an old family story with next to no informartion so any help is much appreciated
Which wrecks, and when? Could you share the information that you do have? Where was your family from, and were these local boats? I’ll help if I can.
Hello All, Thanks for this site. I am wondering if anyone has visited the wreck of the william carson and what kind of condition is she in? My father worked on the carson (among other cn boats) and got off in Argentia before she headed up north for the last time.
Regards,
L Collins
Placentia NF
Hi,
All I’m aware of is a mention in an Op-Ed column from Cape Breton of proposed dives to visity the Patrick Morris and the William Carson, but this was in 2008. Maybe you could contact Rannie Gillis for a follow-up?
Much shipwreck research data has been included with Shipwreck Songs at GEST Songs of Newfoundland and Labrador which may be found on this page: http://www.wtv-zone.com/phyrst/audio/nfld/nlwrecks.htm
I’ll add it to the list of resources. Muchly appreciated.
Would like to correct a few details in your report on the Despatch. It occurred in 1828, not 1832, and the rescuers also included Ann’s 10 year old brother, plus the Nfld Dog Hairyman…not hairy Dog. You can visit Isle aux Morts on the southwest coast of NL and walk the scenic Harvey Trail with actual Nfld Dogs and then eat a delicious traditional Nfld meal at Hairyman’s Safe Haven Cafe!
Thanks for that information. I’ll update as soon as possible.
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My great uncle Paddy was on the Southern Cross, but his name is not on the list of people who went down with the Southern Cross. I listened to my grandmother telling me stories of the Southern Cross, and how my Great Uncle Paddy got his ticket to go on the Southern Cross, it is coming up to 99 years since she went down and I would really like to see this mistake fixed. Is it possible for someone to to fix it and make the story right. My grandmother was borned in 1899 and I listened to all her stories on the Southern Cross and how my Poppy coming back from his trip to the Labador, seeing pieces of wood floating around, and he said some boat put in a hard time last night, only to realize that it was probably from the Southern Cross, the ship his brother Paddy was on. My grandmother passed away a few years ago, she was about 16 when the Southern Cross went down, and she lost her brother-in-law (Patrick Butt) on the Southern Cross. I tried to remember the mans name that changed birth rights with my uncle that night, but I can’t remember it, can someone please help me fix this, for my grandmother.
I’ve seen the dinner theatre on the ‘Ethie’ at Gros Morne where the role of the Director ‘in jest’ tries to make everyone believe that the Nfld Dog played a major role in this shipwreck. However, this was researched and another novel pointed out that the only role of a dog in this event was it stay on the beach and bark at people as they came ashore. I think you will find that the dog in the Harvey Rescue off Isle aux Morts played a major role had it has been documented..not fictionalized.
am looking for information on the name of a sailing ship. Tom Janes was the captain and the ship went down in ice. He was married to elfrida dale from northern bay newfoundland. he was my great uncle. gdale01@yahoo.ca
I was listening to the Great Big Sea song, “England” and couldn’t find that particular “Mary Ann” – was there a real ship this story is based on?
Lyrics:
We shipped on board the Mary Ann
To find a better life
And we walked across the water
When she broke up on the ice
We came ashore in Carbonnier…
In 1870 the Quickstep was lost during a hurricane. All people perished. I haven’t been able to find any ship’s manifest, or any other information on the Quickstep. She was last seen by the Franklin, as a gale was coming in. Anybody know anything about the Quickstep? Left from New London, CT in May 1869.
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1770’s were terrible years for hurricanes… a fleet of 104 British merchant and warships were followed up the coast of North America by a hurricane, from Jamaica to Newfoundland they were assaulted, and it sunk 90 of the ships…. its considered the worst maritime disaster in English History. A different hurricane in the Caribbean killed 3,000 people and sunk hundred ships.