The wreck of the Baralong

– The  Baralong was a British steamer, with a floating dock in tow. It was passing Mossel Bay on the way to Durban in 1902. It was the first floating dock in South Africa. The deck was 123 m, long and 25 m wide and it weighed 4 500 tons.

It was Near Cape St Blaize on October 30 when a north-west gale blew the port bridle away and the pontoon lay vulnerable to the weather. The wind changed direction and there were heavy seas. The crew managed to reconnect it with a flexible wire hawser, but the wind blew them close to the shore.

The mend gave way and it was decided to abandon the dock, it was beached in a natural creek which was the only sandy spot here. It settled down with rocks at the stern and bow. Three large pieces of the wreck are still visible today.