Wreck of the Belem
by Richard Brookes
Title
Wreck of the Belem
Artist
Richard Brookes
Medium
Photograph
Description
A very low tide at Sandymouth beach North Cornwall near Northcott Mouth, north of Bude, Cornwall, England, UK. All that remains, mainly propeller shaft, of the wreck of the 1,925 ton Portuguese steamship "Belem" (formerly the German SS Rhodos) stranded in thick fog at Northcott Mouth, Bude, on 20th November 1917 while on passage from Gibraltar to Barry with ballast. The crew of 33 including two Royal Navy gunners (she was armed with a light gun aft), were brought ashore by rocket apparatus. She soon broke her back and was deemed a constructive total loss, being later broken up for scrap. The remains are not always visible except on occasion when heavy seas scoop away the covering sand, In the 1980's(?) a team of local enthusiasts recovered part of her propeller shaft which was donated to Bude Museum. Also understand that another part of the shaft was used to perch the barrel on Barrel Rock at the end of Bude Sea Breakwater.
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April 12th, 2015
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Viewed 415 Times - Last Visitor from Syosset, NY on 04/15/2024 at 4:17 PM
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Comments (1)
Christopher McKenzie
What a great place to explore!
Richard Brookes replied:
It certainly was Christopher. The excitement was added to as I only had minutes before the tide came racing in again. As you can see the beach doesn't shelve very much so that tides come in quickly. Also it may be a long time before that much wreck is visible again.
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