Post by Administrator on Sept 2, 2018 4:26:13 GMT
The Great Hurricane of 1908.
The sinking of the barque Amazon off Margam Sands on 1st September 1908, with the loss of 21 crew;
A storm that began on the afternoon of Monday 31 August had increased to hurricane proportions by the morning of 1 September, with winds reaching up to 90 miles an hour and causing severe damage all along the South Wales coast.
With waves of nearly 60 feet, the captains of many vessels decided to remain in port, but for Captain Garrick of the barque Amazon, fully laden with coal on its outward journey from Port Talbot to Chile, there was little option but to brave the elements. he anchored off the Mumbles and tried to ride out the gale. However at 6am on 1st September, the Amazon's cables parted and the ship was driven eastwards. Pounded by the waves, the stricken vessel swung sideways on to the storm and was thrown up onto Margam Sands, bow first.
There were just eight survivors. Many of the crew had tried to swim to safety, six made it ashore, but the remainder were immediately lost in the huge seas and when the Port Talbot Lifesaving Company arrived on the scene only two men were left alive on the ship. Twenty-one were drowned, including Captain Garrick, who had been lashed to the mainmast and whose body was discovered 8 days later near Sker Point.
A Public House in Port Talbot, ‘The Amazon’ is named after the ship.
The sinking of the barque Amazon off Margam Sands on 1st September 1908, with the loss of 21 crew;
A storm that began on the afternoon of Monday 31 August had increased to hurricane proportions by the morning of 1 September, with winds reaching up to 90 miles an hour and causing severe damage all along the South Wales coast.
With waves of nearly 60 feet, the captains of many vessels decided to remain in port, but for Captain Garrick of the barque Amazon, fully laden with coal on its outward journey from Port Talbot to Chile, there was little option but to brave the elements. he anchored off the Mumbles and tried to ride out the gale. However at 6am on 1st September, the Amazon's cables parted and the ship was driven eastwards. Pounded by the waves, the stricken vessel swung sideways on to the storm and was thrown up onto Margam Sands, bow first.
There were just eight survivors. Many of the crew had tried to swim to safety, six made it ashore, but the remainder were immediately lost in the huge seas and when the Port Talbot Lifesaving Company arrived on the scene only two men were left alive on the ship. Twenty-one were drowned, including Captain Garrick, who had been lashed to the mainmast and whose body was discovered 8 days later near Sker Point.
A Public House in Port Talbot, ‘The Amazon’ is named after the ship.