Shipwrecks and Salvage in South Africa - Malcolm Turner

Shipwrecks & Salvage in South Africa - Malcolm Turner - 1988 - Struik - Large format hard cover in good condition, one inscription.

Thousands of ships have wrecked along the South African coastline by now when this book was published in 1988 the tally as recorded in this book (which is not exhaustive) stood at just under 1,000 and we are blessed with wild, wild seas that render up a wreck for us every year or two. Something about shipwrecks fascinates many people myself included. Theres always the possibility of treasure, speaking to the pirate in all of us. The destruction of a massive sea-going vessel by the forces of nature, and the bravery often exhibited by the crew and passengers (captain of the Oceanos excepted) makes for a great story. And we love stories.

The main portion of this book is concerned with navigation, shipbuilding techniques and cargoes, the causes of shipwrecks, and tales of treasure and salvage attempts. Turner deals with the history of salvage techniques, and outlines what has to be done on the site of a shipwreck. He describes how the wrecks location determines its condition whether its on a reef or sandbank, and how exposed it is to the force of the ocean have a significant impact.

Turners book also mentions many specific ships wrecked off the South African coastline between 1505 and 1986, many of them in sidebars to the main text. Its a detailed volume, complete with co-ordinates for wrecks of known location. Turner includes photographs of the vessels as they were before hitting the seabed, as well as stories of the sinkings and (in some cases) rescues. Details of any salvage operations performed on the wreck are also included.