The list of shipwrecks in the Channel Islands lists some of the ships that wrecked on or sank in the waters of the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey. The list includes ships that sustained a damaged hull, which were later refloated and repaired.
There are at least 700 identified shipwrecks and another 100 unidentified, in Bailiwick of Guernsey waters alone.[1]: 105–128
Jersey experiences some of the largest tidal ranges in the world, up to 12 metres;[2]Guernsey has slightly less dramatic tides. The mass of water moving in and out gives rise to fast moving currents. Alderney has the Alderney Race, which can run up to about twelve knots during equinoctial tides. These combined with the numerous smaller islands, offshore reefs, and isolated rocks extending up to 13 miles (21 km) from the main islands, as well as the Islands' location close to the English Channel shipping channels, has resulted in thousands of shipwrecks over the centuries.
Les Casquets or (The) Casquets (/kæsˈkɛts/kas-KETS); is a group of rocks 13 km west of Alderney and are part of an underwater sandstone ridge. Other parts which emerge above the water are the islets of Burhou and Ortac. Little vegetation grows on them.
The Bailiwick of Jersey comprises the island of Jersey and a number of smaller islets and rocks, most of which are covered at high tide. See List of islands of the Bailiwick of Jersey for a complete list of their smaller islands.
Les Écréhous NE of Jersey consists of two reefs which form an extensive shoal area 7 miles (11 km) long and 2.3 miles (3.7 km) wide.[3]
Les Minquiers 9 miles (14 km) S of Jersey, its largest island is only 50 metres by 20 metres, but at low water, Les Minquiers has a land area greater than 100km².
The deliberate wrecking of ships has not been a Channel Island trait, although the recovery of goods from a natural wreck has always been undertaken. Smuggling and Privateer's[4] have abounded in the Islands' waters over many centuries.
Modern navigation systems have helped reduce the number of disasters, but shipping still receive warnings of waters around the Channel Islands.[5]
In 1120, the White Ship, carrying Prince William, son of Henry I of England with three hundred fellow passengers: 140 knights and 18 noblewomen; his half-brother, Richard; his half-sister, Matilda the Countess of Perche; his cousins, Matilda of Blois; the nephew of the German Emperor Henry V; the young Earl of Chester and most of the heirs to the great estates of England and Normandy, was being rowed back to England by a drunken crew when it hit the Casquets rocks and sank. There was only one survivor.[7][8][9]
The ship was wrecked on the coast of Guernsey. The crew, confessing to be pirates, were imprisoned in Castle Cornet from which the commander and his officers escaped. One of the crew was hanged as an example.[10]: 29
The French East India Company ship was one of four sent to coloniseMadagascar. She left for home on 20 February and within days of her destination of Le Havre, she was attacked by an English corsair and sank off Guernsey on 9 July 1666. At the time she was reported to be carrying a valuable cargo worth £1,500,000.[13][14]
The sailing vessel hit the Casquets rocks, several sailors managed to get ashore and sheltered in some huts. They were found just before they starved to death.[15]: 19
20-gun sixth rate launched in 1711 and wrecked in 1721. The ship struck a rock "half a musket shot" off Castle CornetGuernsey on 7 December 1721, and 21 hands were lost including the Captain Fuzzard. The loss was attributed to the "ignorance of the pilot". 94 of the ship's company were saved.[18] Amongst those rescued was the ship's surgeon, Mr Forkington, "who was laid up with the gout, but made shift to swim to a rock not far distant, and the cold baths that endangered his life, hath effectively cured his said distemper."[19] The pilot was tried and found guilty, and was sentenced to three years imprisonment and loss of pay.[20]
Shipwreck of new cutter of 12 guns 'Sprightly' capsized with loss of life, (Lt William Hills) off Les Hanois reef west of GuernseyChannel Islands, whilst chasing a smuggler.[1]: 14 [24]
The frigate hit the Hannouaux (Hanois) rocks off the coast of Alderney and was driven into Braye bay on 29 December 1795. The crew got ashore without loss, however two rescuers drowned.[1]: 14 [27][28][15]: 22
The frigate, which had been captured from the French in 1794, struck a rock in St Aubin's Bay, Jersey and sank. On 23 September 1802. She was later refloated but was declared a constructive total loss.
En route from Guernsey to Granville on 23 December, the Courser-classgun-brig sought shelter off the island of Maitre, one of the Iles Chausey. The storm abated on 30 December 1803, but on leaving the anchorage a hawser parted and Grappler drifted on to a half-tide rock, breaking in two as the tide dropped.[38]
The privateerfrigate was at anchor but was driven ashore and wrecked on Castle Rocks, Guernsey on 31 January 1805 in a storm that had also broken her mizzenmast. Her 150 crew were rescued.[45]
Pigmy was wrecked in St Aubin's Bay, Jersey, on 9 August 1805. The pilot, Nicholas de Leree, had thought there was enough water to pass over a reef of rocks stretching from Sillet Point, but she grounded and was bilged. Boats from HMS Alcmene, Albacore, Conquest, and Eclipse took her people off.
The 28-gun Laurel-classpost ship struck rocks on Les Hanois reef SW of Guernsey and was wrecked with the loss of all but 47 of her 155 crew on 28 November 1807 when towing a pilot cutter to safety. Only two officers and 45 men were saved when Boreas went down immediately after striking the sunken rock leaving only the masts and rigging above sea level. Among those lost were Capt Robert Scott and his wife.[1]: 25 [47]
The ship departed Alderney, Channel Islands, for Guernsey, on 14 November 1814. No further trace, presumed foundered in the English Channel with the loss of all hands.[52]
The ship was wrecked at Rocquaine, on the west coast of Guernsey on 12 November 1816. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Palermo, Spain, to Antwerp, Netherlands.[59][60]: 13
The ship was wrecked on the west coast of Guernsey, on 13 December 1816 with the loss of all but one of her crew. She was on a voyage from Lisbon, Portugal, to Antwerp, Netherlands.[62]
The ketch was wrecked on 17 December 1817 with the loss of one of her six crew. Survivors were rescued by Minerva (United Kingdom). She was on a voyage from Seville, Spain, to London[65]
The brig ran aground on the Casquets, on 24 November 1821 and broke in two. The thirteen crew were on the stern section, which floated off and subsequently came ashore on the Isle of Wight. United Kingdom on 29 December enabling the rescue of her crew. Ales was on a voyage from London, United Kingdom, to St. Ubes, Spain.[70]
The ship was wrecked on the north coast of Jersey on 1 November 1823. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Plymouth, Devon, to Jersey.[77]<[78]
The Brig of War was driven ashore and wrecked on the east coast of Alderney on 11 November 1825. Her 55 crew were rescued and the vessel was plundered by the local inhabitants. She was on a voyage from London, United Kingdom, to Hydra.[84][86]
The ship struck rocks 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) on 20 July 1826 and foundered. She was on a voyage from Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, to Jersey.[88]
The ship was wrecked on the Écréhous Rock, on 3 October 1829, 6 nautical miles (11 km) off Jersey, Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Dublin to Memel, Prussia.[94]
The ship sprang a leak and was abandoned off Guernsey. Her crew were rescued by St. Jacque (France) She was on a voyage from Tenerife, Spain, to London.[95][96]
The ship was wrecked and sank on the north coast of Guernsey on 22 May 1831. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Weymouth, Dorset, to Guernsey.[99]
The ship was wrecked on North West Alderney on 3 January 1833. She was on a voyage from Hamburg to Valparaiso, Chile and Lima, Peru.[100] Despite soldiers trying to protect the cargo, the Islanders looted her, several were jailed.[15]: 23
The ship was driven ashore and wrecked on the north coast of Guernsey on 12 January 1834 with the loss of all but two of her crew. She was on a voyage from Jamaica to London.[104]
The oak built ship, registered in Odessa, Russia, was driven ashore and wrecked on la platte saline, Alderney on 28 October 1834. Her crew were rescued. She was in ballast. Her provisions and rigging were saved.[107][108]
Sailing from Quebec to Hull, struck rocks 5 miles NW from Les Hanois, filled quickly with water but stayed afloat as it was carrying timber. No casualties.[60]: 20
En route from New York City to Le Havre loaded with cotton and hops, ran aground near Guernsey on 19 December 1849. Part of the cargo was saved from the ship as were the 22 passengers and 28 crew.[114][115][60]: 37
The Alderney cutter Experiment was wrecked off Bréhon Tower, between Guernsey and Herm in March 1850. The Captain and 8 passengers drowned but 20 were saved by the Guernsey pilot boat Mary of Guernsey.[1]: 9 [116][117][118]
On a run from Saint Malo to Jersey as a replacement ship, the Paddle Steamer sprang a leak and began to sink near the Minquiers S of Jersey on 15 September 1850. All passengers and crew took to the lifeboats and were rescued. On 15 September 1850, the steam tug Polka was hurriedly pressed into service to make the daily run to St. Malo as Superb was undergoing repairs at St. Helier. When she was about halfway to her destination, Polka sprang a leak and began to sink whereupon her master, Captain Priaulx, calmly loaded everyone into the two lifeboats and landed them safely on the nearby Mâitre Ile. Picked up and taken into St. Malo the next day, the survivors counted themselves extremely fortunate and lavished both praise and a sizeable reward upon Captain Priaulx for his admirable seamanship.[119][120]
The paddle steamer was running from Saint Malo to Jersey with 60 passengers, including survivors from the Polka (United Kingdom) on approaching the Minquiers reef, they went to inspect where the PSS Polks had sunk, whereupon they themselves struck a rock, which caused panic and 20 people lost their lives, the rest being saved.
On 17 September, only two days after the sinking of the PSS Polka, Superb left St. Malo with sixty passengers and crew aboard, including Captain Priaulx and several of the other survivors from the Polka. As they approached the Minquiers Reef, Superbs’ mate (John Fleming) was persuaded by some of the passengers to show them where the Polka had gone down but unfortunately, as he took Superb through the so-called eastern passage, she struck a rock known as La Pointue du Blanc Roc which tore deep into her hull. In the ensuing panic to load the lifeboats, twenty people lost their lives, four of whom had barely recovered from their experiences on the sinking Polka two days previously. Ironically, Superb herself remained stranded on the rock and the survivors including, once again, Captain Priaulx, were plucked straight off the decks by the rescue ships sent out from St. Helier. As an interesting postscript, one small vestige of Superb lived on after her boilers were salvaged and subsequently installed into one of her successors, another paddle steamer, the Rose, which took her name from Thomas Rose, the owner of the company.
One of the earliest steamships operating in the waters around the Channel Islands, the Superb was owned by the Jersey Steam Packet Company of St. Helier which ran her on their scheduled Jersey to St. Malo [and Granville] mail and passenger service.[121][122]
The barque mistook the Les Casquets west of Alderney on 5 January 1857 for the Scillies. She was driven onto Tautenay rock in the Little Russel. The brig ‘Diolinda’ raised the alarm and steam tug ‘Watt’, H.M. Revenue Cutter ‘Eagle’ and Pilot boat ‘Blonde’ between them saved 6 of 15 crew. An RNLI silver medal was awarded to William Cockrom a steward on the 'Eagle'.[123]
A schooner-brig from Jersey en route to Boston in ballast returning to Jersey struck les Hanois on 6 April 1862 in appalling weather conditions, eventually sinking near L'Ancresse. The crew of seven landed from a small boat at Vazon.[60]: 67
The paddle steamer Paris left St Malo 28 July 1863 with 24 passengers and 12 tons of cargo, chiefly butter and eggs. She was under charge of a Jersey pilot of considerable experience named De La Cour, the day was beautiful and the sea was as smooth as a mill pond.
Shortly before 9am the steamer was observed just off Elizabeth Castle which, with the hermitage forms an outwork of rock a short distance from the entrance to Victoria Harbour, Jersey. The tide was just beginning to flow. the Captain (Hemmings) asked the pilot which passage he was going to take. The Sellette or the middle passage. The Pilot replied that he would take whichever passage the Captain chose to which the latter replied that it was not his province to interfere, adding that it was high time the pilot made up his mind. The Captain again warned the pilot of the danger which was now clearly apparent. This warning was scarcely off his lips when the vessel struck on a rock known as ´GRUNE VAUDIN´. The engines were stopped and set for astern.
It was then the captain ordered the lifeboats to be lowered. Ten minutes after the vessel struck, she went down in 5 fathoms of water. The Paris was valued at £7000 and was not insured. The masts of the sunken vessel were clearly visible from the shore.[122][125]
Sailing from Havanna bound for Le Havre with a cargo of sugar, in a storm, at night, the captain mistook his position and steered south of the rocks he thought were the Les Casquets. They were in fact the Écréhous and in doing so he ran onto the rocks off Jersey on 3 May 1864. The crew was saved.[126]
Struck the rocks under Hermitage Rock Battery in Alderney in late December 1865. Gunner James Moore of the Royal Artillery in Alderney rescued 17 men of the crew; he was later awarded an RNLI Silver Medal.[127][128]
On a voyage from Sark to Guernsey the Gosforth, carrying the Seigneur of Sark, struck a rock between Herm and Jethou and sank. All crew and passengers got ashore on Herm[133]
The barque, based in Granville, Manche, lost in the Minquiers, on 22 November 1873, during a trip from Bordeaux (Aquitaine) to her home port. There was only one survivor.[122][136]
The LSWR Channel Packet from Southampton, founders on Platte Boue rock on 16 February 1875, there were 92 survivors. Passengers put ashore on Amfroque; wreck found lying across that of the PSS Waverley (United Kingdom), which had hit the same rock in 1873.[122][137][138]
Carrying iron ore and wine, ran aground on rocks off N coast of Guernsey on 16 March 1880, possibly because compass was affected by the iron ore.[122][140]
Formerly called the "Hogarth", it was bought in 1878 by London & South Western Railway Co. Carrying mail and passengers from Southampton to GuernseySark and Jersey, it was wrecked on 19 February 1881, off Oyster Rock, just outside St Helier harbour Jersey.[143][144]
The Swedish wooden barque ELLA, built in 1851, on voyage from Gothenburg to Liverpool with a cargo of pit props, was lost after running aground in Belgrave Bay (Belle Grève), Guernsey on 11 January 1887. There were no casualties.[122][146]
The paddle steamer was sailing from Weymouth to Guernsey on 29 January 1887 the ship was travelling faster than they thought and hit a rock, in fog, north of Guernsey causing the ship to founder. there was no loss of life.[147][148][149]
On a journey to Havre when she hit the Gibou rocks near Lihou Island west of Guernsey in fog and sank 2 miles (3.2 km) from shore and 7NM from Les Hanois Lighthouse. All passengers and crew were saved.[122][150]
En route from St Malo for Newfoundland destined for Cod the Sailing vessel had a crew of 7 and 90 male passengers. It ran onto rocks on the south coast of Guernsey on 2 March 1895 in fog and foundered close to shore. All managed to climb to the top of the cliffs safely apart from one elderly man who slipped and fell to his death.[28][153]
steaming from Plymouth to the Channel Islands was wrecked in bad weather and fog on the Black Rock, 1.5NM off Guernsey. Forty were saved but 14 passengers and 5 crew were drowned.[1]: 27 [154][155]
Formerly called Mount Hebron. Ownership by "Armement Deppe" (Antwerp). Cargo of 10 tramways for Cairo. On her way to Alexandria. She foundered 6 nm NW of the Casquets[122][158]
The mail boat hit the Platte Fougere reef on 5 January 1900 in bad visibility. Two fatalities.[159] The ship was raised in July 1900 and returned to service.
The Dundee class yacht, en route from Saint-Cast-Le-Guildo (Brittany, France) to Denmark loaded with wheat, was lost on 22 August 1900 with all hands S of Guernsey.[28][160]
The ship on a voyage from Plymouth to Jersey ran aground on 4 December at night off La Corbière, Jersey in a gale. 11 were saved but 9 men in one lifeboat drowned[162][163]
The Viper-classdestroyer launched on 8 September 1899, this ship was the first turbine powered destroyer. Foundered on ´le Renonquet´ Reef off Alderney on 3 August 1901 during naval manoeuvers. Capable of 37 knots, she struck doing 22 knots, capsized and broke in two. All survived. Blown up by Navy to stop turbine secrets being leaked out.[1]: 64 [164][165][15]: 25
The iron four-masted sailing ship, the largest in the world at the time, was en route from Antwerp to San Francisco with general cargo when she sailed slowly onto the rocks at Hommeaux Florains, on the northeastern tip of Alderney on 25 February 1902 in fog. There was no loss of life.[1]: 71 [166][167] Accessible via a causeway the people of Alderney "helped" recover the cargo.[15]: 26
The two masted ship, carrying granite, set sail at 7pm and ran into strong tides, forcing it onto the Black Rock outside St Sampsons' harbour Guernsey. The next few days the planking was removed from the hull and the cargo removed into waiting carts.[169][170][171]
The ship struck Les Anons a rock south of Jethou on 30 April 1906.[174] There were 29 survivors and 10 deaths. The ship was salvaged on 1 August 1906 and returned to service after repairs.[175]
En route from Newcastle to Lisbon with a 240-ton cargo of Singer sewing machines when she ran aground in thick fog on Tasse de la Frette Rocks, NW Burhou near Alderney on 29 May 1906. The crew initially refused help, threatening to shoot the rescuers. The wreck was looted, resulting in Singer stopping production of that model as no spare parts would be available.[1]: 75 [176][177]
The ship was on a voyage from Penarth to Granville carrying a cargo of coal, when she was wrecked at Roches Douvres Rocks, 15 miles (24 km) from La Corbière, Jersey on 16 September 1908.[180][181]
The cargo schonner that foundered on 15 November 1908 on the Minquiers S of Jersey when en route from Dunkirk for Granville with a cargo of Scoria.[182]
The cargo ship was on a voyage from N. Shields to Napoli with a cargo of coal and coke, when she was wrecked, off Burhou, Alderney on 26 January 1909.[183]
A British cargo steamer of 1,466 grt built in 1907 by John Crown & Sons for Furness, Withy & Co. On 18 April 1909, when north-west Grunes, near Cobo Bay, Guernsey she ran aground and was wrecked on 8 April 1909 while on a voyage from the Tyne to Saint-Malo with a cargo of coal.[184][185]
Barge based Erquy (region of Brittany, France). Carrying cobblestone from its home port to Saint Malo (same area), was wrecked on the Minquiers tray. On 23 October 1909.[186]
The Russian wooden brigantine, on voyage from La Rochelle to Llanelly with a cargo of pit props, was wrecked in Belgrave Bay (Belle Grève), Guernsey on 28 February 1910.[1]: 65 [187]
The British steel cargo ship WEAR, built in 1905 by Austin S. P. & Son Ltd. and owned at the time of her loss by Witherington & Everett SS Co., on voyage from Sunderland to Saint-Servan with a cargo of coal, was wrecked on 15 May 1910 on the west coast of GuernseyChannel Islands. There were no casualties.[122][188]
Carrying a cargo of coal, she ran aground in dense fog on Les Boufresses reef just north of Île de Raz Alderney on 7 June 1910 and broke her back.[177][189] The crew got ashore and sheltered in the fort.
The ship was leaving Alderney harbour when it suffered steering problems and ran aground on the Grois Reef. Floating free she was anchored but broke up in a storm on 11 January and became a total loss.[193]
The cargo ship was sunk in the English Channel 16 nautical miles (30 km) north east of the Casquets, on 5 September 1916 by SM UB-29 (Imperial German Navy). Her crew survived.[202]
The schooner was scuttled in the English Channel 15 nautical miles (28 km) north of Alderney, on 24 October 1916 by SM UB-37 (Imperial German Navy). Her crew survived.[206]
The coaster was shelled and sunk in the English Channel 7 nautical miles (13 km) north of the Casquets, on 26 October 1916 by SM UB-18 (Imperial German Navy). Her crew survived.[207]
The cargo ship was sunk on 29 November 1916 in the English Channel 10 nautical miles (19 km) west south west of Guernsey, by SM UB-39 (Imperial German Navy) with the loss of nine of her crew.[211]
The coaster was sunk after hitting a mine in the English Channel 6 nautical miles (11 km) north of Guernsey, on 3 May 1917 by SM UB-35 (Imperial German Navy). Her crew survived.[212]
The coaster was shelled and sunk, on 18 May 1917, in the English Channel 6 nautical miles (11 km) south of St. Martin's Point, Guernsey, by SM UC-70 (Imperial German Navy). Her crew survived.[217]
On a voyage from Brest to Rouen carrying coal, the coaster was sunk, maybe by a mine, certainly after an explosion 3.5 nm SW of Les Hanois Lighthouse, west of Guernsey on 26 January 1918[225]
During her first commercial trip from Nantes (region Pays de la Loire, France) to Rotterdam (Netherlands) loaded with iron ore, sank following a leak at N of Alderney on 18 March 1920. Only 4 sailors were rescued by the Norwegian steamer Wacland.[227][228]
The railway steamship ran aground in fog on Alderney, carrying a cargo of potatoes from Jersey bound for Port of Hull on 25 May 1920. The ship was pulled off the rocks.[229] She was refloated on 15 June.[1]: 76 [230]
The cargo ship en route from Portman (Spain) to Middlesbrough foundered near Guernsey on 25 January 1921. She had previously been salvaged in April 1919 by HM Tug "St Issey".[233]
The cargo ship was wrecked at the entrance to St. Sampson's, on the Roustel Rock, Guernsey, on 5 September 1921, inward from Newhaven, East Sussex, in ballast and sank. All seven crew were rescued.[234]
On departing St Helier harbour, the passenger ferry and mailboat struck the Pignonet Rock, off Moilmont Point, Jersey on 7 July 1923 and was holed. Her captain decided to return to port, but she later struck the Oyster Rock and was beached at St Helier. All 370 passengers were rescued. She was refloated on 20 July and taken to England for repairs.[240] She was later refloated and towed to Southampton, Hampshire, where she arrived on 4 August.[241]
The coaster, en route from Weymouth for Lézardrieux with a cargo of empty hampers, ran aground on Vazon Bay on the west coast of Guernsey, on 3 June 1929. She broke in tow and sank. All eleven crew survived.[251]
The cargo ship was wrecked off Guernsey in the Little Roussel on 16 February 1930. Towed to a beach next to St Peter Port harbour, she sank, could not be refloated and was blown up with explosives.[253]
The coaster carrying wines and spirits struck a rock, tried to beach on Vazon Bay, Guernsey but sank 1.3 nm offshore, on 1 October 1937. All 28 crew were rescued by local fishing boats. Much of the cargo was washed ashore and "rescued" by the locals.[268][269]
This 1916 ship was towing a barge on a convoy from Granville to Jersey on 21 December 1940, when it got into difficulties and ended up sinking on the Chausey islands.[122]
Originally she sailed under a Belgian flag, the ship was wrecked on the Dogs Nest rocks outside St Helier harbour Jersey on 20 September 1942 carrying essential commodities such as footwear and cheese for the civilian population.[270][271]
The ancient houseboat from the Rhine, taken over in 1940 and converted in Rotterdam was working for the Organisation Todt, carrying a cargo of bricks. It was attacked by Allied aircraft and sunk S of Jersey on 7 December 1942.[272][273]
The cargo ship, under German command, carrying sacks of cement and iron girders and 284 troops returning from leave, sank on 5 January 1943, after hitting a reef a mile off Portelet Bay, Jersey. 106 of the troops who were being transported in a hold, died.[274]
The freighter, formerly the Guernsey ship Staffa,[15] with sick Russian OT workers in the holds, was lost after it ran aground on Alderney after breaking its moorings in January 1943 in a gale. A number of the slave labourers died after being left in the holds for days. The ship was pulled off the beach but sunk by bombing in April 1944.[1]: 77 [275]
The 300-ton patrol boat ex trawler "Henny Fricke" built in 1924, was lost after it ran aground on Alderney on 14 January 1943 in a gale after trying to pull 'Xaver Dorsch' off the beach.[276]
The cargo ship, requisitioned by the French, then under German command, carrying a cargo of 250 lb bombs, was wrecked on Grune aux Dardes, Jersey on 22 May 1943[122][279][280]
En route from Saint Malo to Guernsey carrying cement and guns, it was attacked by the RAF and holed 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from St Peter Port harbour, Guernsey, on 23 May 1943 with the loss of all hands.[1]: 80 [149][281][282]
The Dido-classcruiser was torpedoed and sunk west of Jersey off Ouessant, Finistère, France, on 23 October 1943 by T23 and T27 (both Kriegsmarine) with the loss of 452 crew. A number of bodies were washed ashore in Guernsey and given, by the Germans, a military funeral at le Foulon cemetery.
British Navy, cruiser built in 1940 accompanied by the destroyer Limbourne and five other vessels (Grenville, Rocket, Talybont, Stevenstone and Wensleydale) was engaged in an offensive sweep off the French coast between Ushant (Ouessant) and the Channel Islands on the night of 23 October 1943.
The Force had been tracked by German radar and torpedo boats were sent to intercept. Visibility was poor and the vessels ran into the enemy light force of the German 4th TB Flotilla which managed to avoid their fire and to discharge a salvo of torpedoes with disastrous effect. The Charybdis was struck on port side by a torpedo, followed about five minutes later by another. She turned over and sank by the stern. Thirty officers, including the captain, and 432 ratings were killed. Only four officers and 103 ratings were saved.[286]
World War II: The Hunt-classdestroyer was attacked off Ouessant by T22 (Kriegsmarine) and severely damaged on 23 October 1943. One officer and 41 ratings being killed. Unable to tow her, she was scuttled by gunfire from HMS Rocket (Royal Navy).[286]
The M-class minesweeper was sunk after being attacked off Cap de la Hague, by British motor torpedo boats, HMS MTB 704 and 714 from 63rd MTB Flotilla near Jersey on 14 June 1944. 70 crew lost.[288][289]: 3
The M-class minesweeper was sunk after being attacked by is sunk after being attacked by HMS Ashanti and the Polish destroyer ORP Piorun at 0130 hrs, 9m SW Jersey, on 14 June 1944[290][289]: 3
The patrol boat Seydlitz, 499tons German patrol vessel (converted trawler?) believed sunk by allied Motor Torpedo boats west of Jersey on 19 June 1944[291]
The ELCO 80' -classPT Boat was operating closely with PT-508 and with PT-503 and PT-507 in support, in a pea soup fog they encountered a German minesweeper group heading south towards Corbiere, PT-509 was shelled, it rammed the side of a Kriegsmarine Minesweeper off Jersey, caught fire and blew up, one wounded survivor was taken prisoner.[296][297][298]
The British motor-schooner, built in 1915, on voyage from Plymouth to Jersey with a cargo of lime, was wrecked off L'Etacq, Jersey on 19 November 1949. HANNA was totally lost and there are still engine remains of her on the rocks today.[299]
The cargo ship, carrying a cargo of cattle cake, ran aground on the Ortach Reef, off BurhouAlderney, on 29 January 1950. Floated free and sank under tow the next day.[300] All 50 crew were rescued.[301]
The coaster en route from Littlehampton to Saint Malo ran aground on the Pierres de Lecq reef, off Jersey, on 26 March 1950 and was abandoned and sank.[302]
Was engaged in salvage work over the wreck of CLARRIE (177grt/1901) off Bordeaux harbour, Guernsey. Timed explosive charges placed on wreck but she could not move clear in time and was severely damaged by the explosion. She launched her life boat and the four crew pulled clear before the vessel foundered on 4 May 1952.[122][305]
Whilst on a voyage from Swansea to Guernsey with Anthracite, the cargo ship ran aground on Black Rock off St Sampson's, Guernsey, on 29 December 1952. Declared a constructive loss in 1953.[306]
Built in Germany in 1939 and called "Gunther Harmann" in 1945 was renamed the "Empire Conlea". The coaster foundered in heavy weather 15 nautical miles (28 km) off La Corbière, Jersey.[307]
The coaster, sailing from Jersey to Portsmouth, with a cargo of tomatoes, sank off Jersey, on 16 September 1961. Of her 11 crew, six were rescued by Cranborne (United Kingdom) and two by Port du Bouc (France).[308]
The cargo ship en route from Sardinia to Ghent with a cargo of zinc ore sank on 6 February 1963 after the cargo shifted in a force 10 gale. Nine men were saved by the GuernseyRNLI lifeboat, earning their Gold Medal and also one from the Norwegian Lifeboat Institution.[310][311]
The 5,179-ton ship struck the Grunes de L’Ouest rocks off Guernsey on 28 May 1965. There were no casualties and the 40 people were rescued by the Guernsey RNLI relief lifeboat.[1]: 39 [122]
The tanker was carrying fresh water en route to Gibraltar when she struck the Les Casquets reef on 23 January 1967 in a storm, all crew were rescued, the ship broke her back[312][313]
The ship was sailing from Rotterdam to Alexandria with cargo fertilizer. In heavy seas the cargo shifted. The ship was taken in tow, but the list increased and the ship sank 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Guernsey on 5 May 1973.[1]: 68 [317][318]
The cargo ship ran aground on Great Nannels reefs, Alderney on 26 November 1973, with the loss of one of her 23 crew. She subsequently broke in two a few days later and became a total loss[1]: 15 [28][320]
The bulk carrier ran aground on her maiden voyage on Les Grunes de Nord-Ouest off Guernsey, on 25 December 1973. She was refloated on 24 February 1974.[321]
The cargo ship struck La Conchee reef and sank west of Guernsey, on 16/17 January 1974. All eighteen crew of seventeen men and one woman were lost.[322][323]
The oil rig, being towed on a barge, ran aground at Grandes Rocques at Guernsey, on 2 February 1978, when the tow broke in a storm. Her crew were rescued by the St. Peter Port Lifeboat and Royal Navy helicopters.[324]
The cargo ship foundered off Guernsey, on 24 January 1984 after a hatch cover was smashed in heavy seas. Seventeen of the 26 crew were lost. Nine survivors were rescued by the frigateCasabianca (Marine Nationale) and taken to St Peter Port.[325]
The Channiland catamaran ferry, travelling from Jersey to Sark with 307 passengers and crew on board, hit a rock known as Le Frouquieat close to Corbière Lighthouse and began to take on water. The passengers were evacuated to life rafts, with around 50 suffering injuries. The vessel was recovered and initially beached in St Aubin's bay, before being refitted and returned to service.[326][327][328]
Scallop dredger and stern trawler capsized leading to sinking. Sailed from Brixham to fishing grounds south of Little Sark on 24 June 2008. The crew was recovered by the Guernsey lifeboat.[331]
^The Annals of Europe, Or Regal Register; Shewing the Succession of the Sovereigns, ... Together with the Bishops and Popes of Rome, Etc. F. Newbery, 1779. p. 197.
^Edwin, John Brett. Brett's Illustrated Naval History of Great Britain, from the Earliest Period to the Present Time: A Reliable Record of the Maritime Rise and Progress of England. Publishing Office, 1871. p. 25.
^Tupper, Ferdinand Brock. The Chronicles of Castle Cornet. Stephen Barbet 1851.
^Howarth, Patrick (1981). Lifeboat In Danger's Hour. London, New York, Sydney, Toronto: Hamlyn. p. 120. ISBN0-600-34959-4.
^Hughes, Colin (25 January 1984). "Question mark over French frigate as 17 die in storm". The Times. No. 61747. London. col E-G, p. 1. (continued on back page, column A)
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