From the past: Shipwrecks off the Dorset coast in pictures

You will find the most abundant marine life amid the timbers, twisted metal and bones of the shipwrecks that rest on the seabed.

At present, more than 2,000 ships are known to have been wrecked off the Dorset coast, a stretch of water that is often regarded as the most treacherous in the country.

It is a fair amount in itself but it could, and probably is, far higher as it leaves out those that were lost before such tragedies were deemed worthy of recording; and only those truly noteworthy would be listed.

There was a time when people were constantly reminded of the sea's peril when thousands of spectators overlooked the remains of a huge ship washing up onto the bay with waves nonchalantly licking the jagged shards broken wood.

The paddle steamer 'Bournemouth' left Torquay on the 27th. August 1886 with over 200 passengers

Still to this day tragedies abound of those who have lost their lives in the pursuit of pleasure or the necessity of work. People would pray for a wreck so that they could salvage what they could, be it pricely cargo or precious raw materials.

Advancements in technology, wireless communications and a greater understanding of the sea have come with time, bringing with them increased safety and a greater chance of surviving the voyage.

The sight of a colossal ship thrown onto shingles as though it were a mere plank of wood is not often seen our beaches any more. But the power of the sea will always triumph over the endeavours of man and at one stage it was a common occurrence and dealt with in an almost ritualistic manner by those fortunate enough to live near the vessel's final resting place.

Shipwrecks of the Dorset Coast by Gordon Le Pard is not a history of this county's wrecks but more a collection of photos of wrecks and of scenarios that narrowly missed out on becoming one.

Front cover of the book 'Shipwrecks of the Dorset Coast' by Gordon Le Pard. Published by Dorset Books, 2005

It is a great overview of all that has happened and smacks home just how powerful the sea is, and in particular, how perilous the Dorset coast is.

Some well-known wrecks in the area are not in the book as photographs were not available to illustrate them. But on the other hand, lesser-known wrecks have been included because of the quality of the images associated with them. Whether or not each situation was captured in film, they were sure to attract the same sort of voyeuristic, morbid curiosity that they would today.

The tanker 'British Inventor' struck a mine on 13th. June 1940 and is seen here sinking off Portland

Speaking to the Echo in 2005, Gordon remembers going down to see a large freighter that had been wrecked off the Solent when he was a boy growing up in Hampshire.

He said: "I can remember hearing on the 9 o'clock news that she was there and I suggested that we should go to have a look. She was just sitting on the beach with tugs around her and we joined this huge crowd of people. It was really impressive."

Expanding on why people are so enthralled by the sight of a ship in trouble, he continued: "People are fascinated with shipwrecks.

"I suppose it's because they are such a complete surprise. People, especially those who live along the coast, are used to seeing ships in the harbour or sea - in their normal habitat.

"Shipwrecks are a rare occurrence, even in the worst situations there was only about nine or ten per year. There's something wrong about a wreck, something very different.

"There's also a sort of perverse pleasure in the spectators of 'at least it's not me'."

The sight of the Francis certainly drew in crowds of spectators when the yacht broke fee from her moorings in Weymouth Bay and drifted onto the sands. As Gordon wrote, "whilst waiting for a suitable tide to float her off, she became an instant, and very popular, tourist attraction".

Imagine seeing the Dinnington, instantly reduced from its majestic glory into that of a beached lump after being driven onto the Northern Breakwater, the front helplessly pointing skyward.

As Gordon said, it is the images that include people that stir up the most interest. That interest continues today, albeit from beneath the waves as opposed to from the shore. The resort's reputation as an international dive site has been largely built on the abundance of wrecks that have made the bottom an underwater playground. It is a reciprocal relationship too, with divers being the "principal finders of material".

Individual wrecks

James Fennell

The James Fennell was an Admiralty trawler on her way to Portsmouth to Gibraltar. On January 16, 1920, she ran onto rocks below Blacknor Point on Portland, leading to what Gordon described as "one of the most remarkable rescues ever recorded on the Dorset Coast.

"A Portland fisherman, Albert 'Sunny' Saunders heard a ship's siren from below Blacknor Point and suspected that a ship might be in trouble. Unable to see it because of the fog, he scrambled down the rocks and along the rocky shore. Seeing the James Fennell on the rocks he tried to get close, but failed because of the rising tide. So he climbed the cliffs and descended on the opposite side of the wreck. Wading waist deep he got close enough to catch a rope thrown from the ship. He toed it to a rock and helped the 15 crew members onto shore. The captain was the last to leave, and slipped from the rope into the sea, but was rescued by Sunny and the crew.

"Shortly afterwards salvage tugs tried to tow the James Fennell off the rocks, but as they did so she slid into the deeper water, where she still lies."

British Inventor

The tanker 'British Inventor' struck a mine on 13th June 1940 and is seen here being refloated

"The British Inventor struck a mine whilst in convoy 5 miles off St Adhelm's Head on June 13, 1940. She broke in two, the fore part sinking on the Lulworth Banksm whilst the stern section was towed into Portland Harbour. A month later this section was towed to Southampton, sold as scrap and broken up."

The Reliance

The story of how the Reliance got to be wrecked is one of the more unfortunate tales in the book.

"In 1949 the ketch Reliance ran into Cave Hole on Portland. Ann Davison, one of the two people on board described the wreck:

'Then the tall cliff face was upon us with a tremendous splintering crash. The bowsprit snapped like kindling. The flare was out. The night was dark. We clung to the mainsheets in a pool of light thrown by the lamps in front of the wheelhouse. She began to roll from side to side, rails under, with incredible speed, as if she would roll right over. A colossal jolt; the shock travelling from stern to stern. The mainmast sagged, came over, seemed to hang suspended. The boom dropped and we leapt from under. Before our horrified eyes the bows of the vessel buried into the very face of the cliff." - Ann Davison, Last Voyage

Ann survived though her husband was drowned.

Madeleine Tristan

The Madeleine Tristan was a large three-masted schooner, which had once fished the Grand Banks off Newfoundland. On September 19, 1930 she was on a coasting voyage to Le Havre when she was driven into Chesil Cove, only a short distance from the remains of the Preveza who was wrecked 10 years earlier.

She was eventually thrown up high on the beach where she lay for many years as a prominent landmark, and playground for local children. Eventually she was declared a health hazard, as she had become infested with rats, and was cut up for firewood. A sad end for what was clearly a very beautiful ship.