We went dog walking on Berrow Beach again. This time the tide was out and I mean seriously OUT!
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| There's a beach patrol during daylight hours because of the quicksands at low tide |
At low tide at Berrow, the bones of a long dead ship
stick out of the sands as a stark reminder of a savage gale and a gallant
rescue at the end of the 19th century. It’s the wreck of the SS Nornen from early 1897.
On 2 March, a howling south-westerly gale swept up the Bristol Channel,
bringing with it high seas, driving snow and sleet.
Many ships soon found themselves in distress, among them the
Norwegian barque SS Nornen which had tried out to ride out the storm in the lee
of the Lundy Roads but had found her anchors dragging. She was being driven
towards Berrow mud flats. The crew desperately tried to save her, but it was
all in vain. When the mists cleared on
the morning of March 3, the crippled ship was spotted just off Gore Sands, her
sails blown to rags by the gale.
The Burnham lifeboat with its crew of ten oarsmen battled
through high seas and winds to the SS Nornen. Despite the gale, the lifeboat
managed to get alongside the helpless ship, just as she was being driven onto
the sands. The ship's crew of ten,
together with their dog, were taken off by the lifeboat and landed safely at
Burnham.
After the rescue, the sea pounded and smashed the ship and although attempts
were made to lighten and refloat her, she was finally sold as a wreck.
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| Wreck of the SS Nornen |
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| This is a seriously big beach! |
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| Oh dear, where's the dog?! |
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