Both Amsterdam Hoek and the Amsterdam Flats near Zwartkops are named after the Dutch warship turned troopship Amsterdam. After being badly damaged in a storm in order to save the crew and passengers, the captain elected to run her aground halfway between the Coega and Zwartkops Rivers on the 16th December 1817.
This would be the proverbial race against time. Notwithstanding all of the pumps working flat-out and the crew manually bailing out the water, the rate of water removal was lower than the rate of ingress. Slowing their rate of movement was the loss of masts and sails. Furthermore with the internal water rising, the vessel became unresponsive while the onboard water sloshed left and then right, making the ship unstable. Adding to the water internally were huge waves which broke over the floundering vessel.
This is the story of that desperate race against the sea largely extracted from the book The Bay of Lost Cargoes being a record of the Shipwrecks of Algoa Bay by Warren F. Morris
Main picture: Captain Hermanus Hofmeijer of the Amsterdam
The HMNS Amsterdam was a Dutch man-of-war under the command of Captain Hofmeijer. After the failure of some pumps, the other pumps’ inability to cope with the inflow of water even with manual bailing by the crew, the vessel was unable to cope with the inflow from the leaks. Even though the planned voyage was from Batavia to Holland and the Amsterdam was already past Algoa Bay, to ensure the minimum loss of life, the captain elected to return to Port Elizabeth. The reason for this decision was based upon the nature of the littoral’s length with 90% comprising sandy beaches. The cargo comprised arrack, coffee and tar amongst other items on its shipping manifest, too numerous to enumerate.
It should be borne in mind that in 1817 Port Elizabeth only comprised at best several dozen dwellings but that Cradock Place was already operational. The descriptions of the events are a translation of diary of Captain Hermanus Hofmeijer.
Saturday 13th December 1817
Hofmeijer recorded that the waves were very high and the fact that the ship was pitching and rolling heavily. The depth measured 75 fathoms with coarse sand on the sea floor. The crew pumped continuously throughout the watch with two bilge pumps and later they also used the fore beam pump. Aft the water measured 18 inches and midships 7½ inches and the high seas became worse. They sighted land in the NW about 7 to 8 miles away. then they navigated SE. Huge waves were now washing over the vessel. The lee seams were bursting and one of the knee joints broke.
The crew pumped continuously using two pumps. The aft now measured 26 inches and the midships 18 inches. With the advent of storm clouds, instructions were issued to lower the sails. At 11 o’clock, a huge wave broke over the ship, breaking the foremast. While it was being repaired, it fell overboard taking the mizzen yard with in as well as the top gallant mast and the foreyard. As a consequence, they had to cut the safety net below the bowsprit. As the ship was rolling so heavily it was impossible to save these as they wished to retain the foremast. Even pumping with all six pumps did nothing to alleviate the situation as the water remained at 20 inches.
The wind continued with heavy rain and high seas. At 12 noon, a crack developed in the main mast and a quarter of an hour later, the mast fell overboard having broken in four pieces. The cross tree also went overboard. The sailors endeavoured to remove the safety net as swiftly as possible in order to prevent the mast from knocking against the side of the ship causing further damage to the hull. The water level was rising rapidly despite the efforts to pump it out. At the aft it had risen from 60 to 67 inches and fore from 49 to 57 inches.
The men started bailing manually in an effort to reduce the internal water level. At this point, the coffee in the hold started to come apart and clogged some of the pumps. Belatedly the officers joined the men in manually bailing the ship.
Sunday 14th December 1817
The wind and the storm persisted. Despite using all the pumps there was still 6 feet of water in the ship and more disconcerting there was still coffee in the pumps, the lee seams were opening up and the kneebraces were cracking. The timber beams shattered as did the timber belting, the upper hull timbers and the yardarm. In the morning they discovered that the ship was sagging on the edge of the forecastle and also the poop, where the structure was found to be broken.
The wind continued to noon when it decreased and changed to a light breeze. Captain Hofmeijer must have been highly relieved as he feared that if the weather conditions had persisted, a total loss would have been unavoidable. A six foot long leak was discovered on the starboard side, below the foremast. The crew plugged it with lead nails as best that they could in the rough seas. Nonetheless other troubling episodes were negating their efforts. Principally the concern now was the pumps as the blockages due to the coffee was making them less efficient. By 11 o’clock the water was 6¼ feet deep.
Hofmeijer called a meeting with the officers. They agreed that there was no chance of reaching Cape Town due to the increasing water levels. Furthermore they concurred that the coffee stored in the front powder room would be thrown overboard as much of it was already spoiled.
Monday 15th December 1817
By now the water had risen to 7 feet. By implication the efforts of the men had been to no avail. However the offloading of the coffee had had the desired effect for a short while but with the continual heavy swell the unmanageable ship was in dire straits and unless the weather abated it would be impossible to keep her afloat. Hofmeijer had finally reached the realisation that it was necessary to reach a port as soon as possible because if the wind and weather conditions changed again, the ship and its crew would be lost.
A Council of War was held. In it Hofmeijer reiterated his view that despite the fact that every human effort having been made to reach their port of destination, Cape Town, the emergency had become so dire that in order to save the ship and its cargo, that their salvation would be to make for the first possible bay.
Reading between the lines, it is evident that Hofmeijer felt compelled to prevent the loss of the ship despite the ever-increasing possibility that the ship and all lives on deck would be forfeited in the attempt.
Hofmeijer now steered close inshore with as much sail as possible. With the remaining timber and sails, the Amsterdam reached Algoa Bay at a quarter past four with depth readings of 25 to 19 fathoms with black sand and mud. Despite the continuous pumping there was no reduction in the water levels. Hofmeijer then navigated NW and N and measured depths of 19 to 10 fathoms with black mud and shells. At 5 o’clock Hofmeijer sighted St. Croix Island NE to E, the corner of the Zwartkops River in the West and the blockhouse adjacent to the Baakens River to the SSW. Hofmeijer proclaimed that he found the map from Barrow’s travels of great assistance in selecting the beach on which he wanted to ground the ship.
During the night the situation became ever more dire and difficult. Despite pumping and bailing the crew could not cope with the inflow of water. The water rose to 8½ feet and by 7 o’clock whereupon the Council of War endorsed the decision that there was no other option left but to ground the vessel otherwise the whole crew would be at risk. Hofmeijer arranged that a provision of bread, meat, bacon and drink would be taken to the upper deck. Hofmeijer also decided to send a message to His Excellency, the Governor of the Cape, requesting assistance and for two ships be made available to convey the ship’s crew to Cape Town.
Hofmeijer sent a sloop to shore to ascertain where there were the fewest waves. He then placed a spring on a mooring rope, cut the rope and headed for the beach. The ship grounded in 3 fathoms of water between the Zwartkops and the Coega Rivers. He used every means to transfer the crew to the beach using the sloop and the floats. The exercise proceeded smoothly except that three sailors were lost when they were washed off the floats. By the time that the ship was abandoned at half last twelve, the water was already five feet over the gangplank.
Wednesday 17th December 1817
The wind changed to SE and the breakers were so rough that it was not possible to send any of the surfboats to the wreck. The bodies of the three deceased sailors, P van Metering, Joseph Gough and Jacob Mulder were washed up on the shores and buried on the beach.
In the early afternoon, General Jacob Cuyler, the Landdrost of the Uitenhage District and some local inhabitants arrived to offer help in the way of bread, meat and water.
It had been a close run-thing.
Sources
The Wreck of the Dutch Man o’ War Amsterdam in December 1817 on the Eastern Cape Coast of Southern Africa Thesis submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts of Rhodes University Jennifer Shirley Bennie January 1998
Port Elizabeth: A Social Chronicle to the end of 1945 by Margaret Harradine (1996, E H Walton (Packaging (Pty) Ltd, Port Elizabeth, on behalf of the Historical Society of Port Elizabeth)
The Bay of Lost Cargoes being a record of the Shipwrecks of Algoa Bay by Warren F. Morris [2005, Xpress Print & Copy, Port Elizabeth]
Port Elizabeth in Bygone Days by J.J. Redgrave (1947, Rustica Press)