The wreck of the RMS Athens
The RMS Athens was wrecked on 17 May 1865. This 68-metre Union Line barque ran between Southampton and Cape Town. She was wrecked while trying to exit Table Bay during the Great Gale of 1865. This infamous storm, the most destructive in the Cape’s history, resulted in the loss of 19 ships.
The Athens had been at anchor in the bay, preparing to leave for Mauritius. Her last anchor cable parted at about 6 pm and Captain Smith headed out to sea, trying to ride out the storm in deeper water.
As the ship approached Mouille Point, she encountered heavy seas. It’s thought that her boiler fires may have been extinguished by an enormous wave, leaving her to aimlessly drift towards the shore. Residents who could hear the 28 crew members calling, but could do nothing to help, They assembled on the beach with lights, ropes, and lifebuoys, but because of the raging sea, no rescue was possible. The only living creature to survive the wreck was a pig that managed to swim ashore.
The engine block of the Royal Mail Ship Athens protrudes above the waves 50 metres off the parking lot at the intersection of Beach and Fritz Sonnenberg roads in Mouille Point.
