By Crasterfarian
How about shipwreck hunting between Howick and Dunstanburgh Castle?
Please be careful of slipping on wet rocks and seaweed and getting caught by the tide. The tide needs to be low to see all of these. Be extra careful looking for the submarine bullhead door as its over the edge of a small cliff.
Wreck of the Tadorne, Howick Haven
This French trawler was wrecked after she ran aground in thick fog on the 29th of March 1913. Her boiler and some lower plate work can still be seen at low tide. Of her crew of 30, 5 were drowned despite heroic efforts of the men and women of Howick, Boulmer RNLI and Craster Coastguard. They are buried at Howick Church in a single plot.
The Wreck of Submarine G11, Howick
G11 drove herself up onto the rocks just north of the Bathing House at Howick on 22nd November 1918. She was returning to her home port of Blyth when an error in dead reckoning navigation (her mechanical nav system was down) caused her to be wrecked against thre shore in dense fog. She had served during the War on patrols around Dogger Bank and had just been recalled home after the Armistice. Her escape hatch and some plate work can still be seen wedged into the rocks, along with some other parts below the Bathing House.
Wreck of the Worms, Hole o’ the Dike
The right-hand side of this first picture looked very different in October 1907 when the unusually named German Ship Worms was wrecked on the southern end of the Hole o’ the Dike just to the south of Craster. There are no visible remains
The Wreck of the Haarafagar, Craster Rocks
Have you ever been down at Craster and wondered what these grooves in the rocks are? They were ground into the rock by the hull of the Haarafagar after she was wrecked there on 11th December 1928. There are also concrete footings along the shoreline where cranes were sited to remove the ship after she was broken up when she couldn’t be re-floated.
Wreck of the Managua, Craster
The boiler and ship’s prow you can see just inside of Muckle Carr at Craster is from the Managua. This Norwegian cargo steamer was en route from Hamburg to Burntisland, laden with ballast and far off course, when whe came ashore and was wrecked on 19th of November 1907.
Wreck of GYD326. Cushat Stiel
This Polish trawler was wrecked on the Cushat Stiel on 28th of August 1958. She was a total wreck and all that can be seen of her are these pitiful remains. I can remember as a child in the 70s running over what was left of her hull. Another few winters and she’ll be gone forever. I did own a wooden knitting needle from her but its long since been lost!
With love from the Crasterfarian xx
