The Strange Disappearance of the SS Waratah
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ค. 2024
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In 1909, the Blue Anchor Line's brand new liner SS Waratah vanished without a trace on her way to Cape Town South Africa. Despite extensive searches and a full investigation, no sign of her wreck or her passengers has ever been found. Dubbed Australia's Titanic, what actually happened to the SS Waratah remains a mystery over a century later.
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Sources:
The Lost Ship SS Waratah by P.J. Smith
Without Trace by John Harris
Video Credits:
Prelinger Archives
US National Archives
Internet Archive
US Library of Congress
Select music provided by Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
Chapters:
0:00 SS Waratah: The Apparition
2:03 Chapter 1: Building the Waratah
5:08 Chapter 2: The Final Voyage
8:43 Chapter 3: Sightings
10:52 Chapter 4: Theories
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Heard about the Waratah as a kid growing up in Durban. It was well known in my family due to my grandfather having taken Sawyer to the ticketing office to cancel his passage. We always thougth it simply encountered a rogue wave in the storm and went down. The east coast of SA provides so many "rogue" waves that it's debatable that the term rogue is really even accurate.
@@russellfitzpatrick503 Yes. The Aghullas current coming down the east coast thru a kind of venturi between Madagascar and the mainland and the storms coming up the coast in the opposite direction from the antartctic, combined possibly with some unusual continental shelf terrain at fairly shallow depths (though this is likely not necessary given the other two factors already at play) creates these waves. There is a photo from the bridge of a supertanker off the coast of Durban with such a rogue going right over the deck. During WW2 the cruiser HMS Birmingham encountered one off the Eastern SA coast. Apparetly she was "taking it green" as high as the bridge and when I was a kid in 74 I think it was, the "Ben Cruachan" encountered one south of Durban which stove her bows in. My father took us down to the harbor to see her after she had limped in and was tied up with her whole bows bent down at an angle of about 20 degrees.
That's amazing! Can you imagine how that poor man must have felt when he discovered the ship had indeed gone down? The story of the Waratah is a well-known one in South Africa, but this is the first time in all these years I hear about a premonition from a passenger on board. Thanks for sharing your story.
@@republic_of_kyle I think he would have been elated..and said I told you so!!!...my great uncle missed the Titanic at Queenstown by ten minutes and at the time it was a calamity for him, when it sunk he was very glad he wasn't on it
@@mottthehoople693 That’s so wild. 🤷🏻♂️
A South African here. Great work. Really happy to see the SS Waratar getting more attention. It's a well known story over here. Especially in the coastal towns. I heard it the first time in highschool history class.
Well I never heard of it 😕 tough Pretoria is not a big area for shipping history
@@dannydel4214 I can't imagine why ;)
Thanks for your interest it is completely forgotten in Australia, as an island nation for some reason we take very little interest in shipwrecks. There was definitely some thing up with that boat and your part of the world is famous for rouge waves. It sounds to me like it was broad sided and capsized and has just gone down with out a trace.
@@somedumbozzie1539 Perhaps its due to Australia's small fishing industry. However I once visited a shipwreck museum in Port Douglas, very much a family run affair.
@@chendaforest Times changed I guess the Jet age has a lot to do with it.
She had a much bigger superstructure than the vessel on which she was based. Which is probably why she was top-heavy. That fact, coupled with heavy seas, disappearing in an area with a high incidence of rogue waves capsizing ships, suggests Mr Sawyer's repeated vision was likely a very accurate one.
If a captain raises concerns, there are CONCERNS. The minute you call a ship's fitness into question, all sorts of unfortunate procedures follow. No one is going to open that can of worms unless there are issues that seriously need to be addressed.
Bck in those days, life wasn't much of a concern for big business. Even less than it I now, I mean.
@@peytonmac1131 Yeah, perhaps. But consider the relatively huge investment "big business" had in the ship. Even though insured, it's loss wasn't good for the bottom line.
@@taijuan5087 Yes, but that's why issues being raised should be taken all the more seriously. The captain would say anything unless it was really serious because he knew how much money was invested in this, not to mention the thousands of lives that would be lost for something that goes wrong.
@@peytonmac1131 So why did he sail anyway?
@@taijuan5087 presumably, believing the expected conditions wouldnt pose too much of a risk?
Very interesting, I'm no naval expert, but I was an investigating officer in the army, and in my experience, the most straightforward answer is usually what happened. Sounds like you had a ship with credible reports of stability issues that steamed into a really nasty storm and prob couldn't handle it. I'm no expert but this doesn't seem that uncommon in this era. If Titanic didn't have a wireless transmitter it's likely you would have had a total loss of life and we would still be wondering what happened to her to this very day.
most plausible theory in my eyes
@@therealtony2009 agreed. Pirates are a maybe, but this is a known issue.
@@marhawkman303 arrg!!
Titanic had wireless.
@@SocalSamStokes heh, fun fact: if titanic didn't have working wireless to send a distress call.. the entire incident might have been an unsolved mystery. Many of the survivors were rescued only a few hours after the sinking. If they'd had to wait until the next day? oooh... my.... those waters would probably have claimed a lot of lives, if not all of them.
Hats off to the way you treat these people with dignity, not just as numbers. Even though they are gone they continue to live because you keep their memory alive.
_"…The statistics I go into in this video have real weight. They aren't just arbitrary numbers. They are numbers which represent human life…each number is a person-not a bulkhead, not a porthole, not a wireless message-but a person with a story like you and me."_
-Matthew DeWinkleer
*Source:* th-cam.com/video/-mwcP6YdZpU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=D60DLVK0kKKjm-Fh
It's worth recalling too that July, when the vessel went missing, is winter, hence the gales.
There was a book published in the late '70s called 'The Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved' that explored other mysterious ship losses in passing at the rear of the book. It discussed that there are about 12 areas in the world where mysterious ship losses occur and have attracted notoriety. One of these mysterious zones (for want of a better word) is off the coast of Western Australia and another zone is off the coast of South Africa. Before people get too excited, the book's premise was that lost ships were erroneously attributed to these zones when they were actually lost far away, and that these losses had explicable causes.
Nice work on this video, I enjoyed it. I really appreciated the little history of the Waratah flower and your relating it back to aboriginal origins. My great grandfather, Albert H Bourne, was contracted to the Waratah as the ship's barber and was to sail on her last voyage. Thankfully for his descendants, his pregnant wife gave him the reason to break the contract and stay safely on terra firma.
How is it winter in July?
@@richardcranium5393 Haven't you heard of the Southern Hemisphere?
I'm confused. Aren't the seasons the same every where?
@@montecarlo1651what's that have to do with anything? July is summer no matter where you stand on the planet.
@@robwernet9609 Nope, need to improve your education.
RIP to the souls lost aboard the Waratah. Great work Big Old Boats.
Note to self: if you ever find yourself on a ship, having nightmares about some demon thing screaming it's name GET THE HECK OFF. I'm familiar with the story, but had never heard about that vision. Yikes!
or dude got hammered drunk, missed the ship, and when he heard it sank he made up a cool story..
@@Old_Indian_Trick that’s what I’d do!😂😂🤷♂️
To quote Homer Simpson - th-cam.com/video/D6m-7Qu861Q/w-d-xo.html
I knew of a girl who had a nightmare about a ferry sinking. The next day she heard about a ferry disaster which had happened that night - I think it was the Estonia. Similarly I suddenly woke up about 2:15 in the morning once after hearing a weird rushing noise and then bang. Subsequently found it was around the time flight AF 447 crashed into the Atlantic. Of course, neither of us were on board so it was of little use to anyone.
God you boat people really are superstitious lol
Given the fire in the engine room previously, the boiler explosion could make sense. If it was the boiler, it sounds like what happened to the US Riverboat Sultana on 27 Apr 1865 (if you haven't heard about that one, check it out, biggest maritime disaster until WW2 that almost no one knows about, far eclipsed Titanic). As far as the discrepancy in positions, what if they knew that they had a problem with the boiler, the captain ordered the ship to turn around and make for the nearest port capable of taking the Waratah (Durban), maybe ordered the fires reduced in the affected boiler (How many boilers were on Waratah?). After that, maybe the (maybe not so) rogue wave theory (they seem to occur during storms) about an oversize wave hitting the ship; with stability issues already and reduced headway that could have done it.
@Jens Nobel Concerning your point on ship size, I agree with one part and disagree with another. Smaller ships have more problems steering through heavy storms than larger ships. In WW2 Admiral Bull Halsey sailed his task force through 2 typhoons, losing 3 destroyers in the first storm but none in the second while the heavier and larger ships were able to survive although damaged and his carriers lost a total of 221 airplanes. So, a storm could very well have contributed to her sinking. Where I disagree is at 9,4000, she would not have been considered a large ship in 1909 by many. The British Board of Trade Safety Regs in effect at the time, 1894 Revision, would put her in the second largest class of ships by size, 9,999 GRT and below, and even at that time there were quite a few ships that were in the 10,000 GRT and above class. White Star's Big Four Celtic, Cedric, Baltic, and Adriatic and Cunard's Mauretania and Lusitania were all already in service by the time SS Waratah was built and all over 21,000 GRT; and since you mentioned her, White Star had also ordered their three biggest liners Olympic, Titanic and Gigantic, later renamed Britannic, in 1908 (45,324 GRT, 46,328 GRT and 48,158 GRT respectively) and White Star alone had about 21 vessels 10,000 GRT and over at that time. And you said huge wave in your comment; isn't a rogue wave just a wave that is huge compared to the waves around it?
And before anyone asks this question, British Board of Trade Safety Regs next revision would come about after RMS Titanic sank in 1912, with their Titanic loss investigation recommending said revision in their September 1912 report. Also, when she sank, Titanic exceeded the existing lifeboat requirements as set up in the complex formulas of the 1894 regs by quite a margin. White Star begrudgingly let ship designers Harland and Wolff of Belfast (still in operation, while White Star would be forced to merge with the Cunard line in 1934 and dropped from the new company's name in 1949) place in excess of requirements lifeboats on Olympic and Titanic when they entered service in 1911 and 1912 respectively, Britannic would not enter service until 1915 under the new requirements of lifeboats/seats for max capacity.
@Jens Nobel I'm sorry, I was under the impression SS Waratah was a passenger liner.
@Jens Nobel Also there's the fact that the SS Great Eastern hadn't been scrapped until 2 decades prior. :p that thing was an impractical monster, but it was a HUGE, for the time, impractical monster with a length of 692 feet and tonnage of 18,915.
Anyways, a thought occurred to me watching this... 6:18 Bullion? it was carrying BULLION? 7800 bars??? how many million is that worth today? are we sure it wasn't pirates? Seriously, no idea if it IS that, but.... that's a lot of money... and reason to look for the ship... without telling the press.
Depends in the cause of that fire.
@Jens Nobel Good point on how most metals can be formed into bullion as part of packaging them for transport. steel has reasons for not being packed like that, but... that's steel. But forming freshly smelted metal into bullion for transport is very doable.
AS for Great Eastern... read a book about it nearly 30 years ago. One thing that greatly hurt it's financial viability was the small number of ports it could actually dock at. It was simply too big to fit in many of them and needed a ferry to transport people to and from the ship. that REALLY hurt it's value as a cruise liner.
From what I heard it was actually well thought of in terms of being comfortable and the spaciousness of the grand ballroom was an amazing sight on a ship. Multiple floors of balconies overlooking a roomy stage for live music and dancing? oh yes, that would have been a sight to behold. :D
I’m glad your channel exists! It brings out unknown ship stories that aren’t the titanic
As a fellow photographer/videographer I had to mention that intro. What a gift you fellas have. Know I’m quite new to the channel but I find nothing overrides a tip of the cap to raw talent. Archive that intro. It made my blood run cold, in the best way.
The Indian Ocean. There's probably more mystery in that ocean alone than anywhere else in the world. I remember learning of the SS Waratah years ago as a kid. Growing up on the Southern Ocean, we also knew of enough sea mysteries there as well. But after being involved with the search for MH370, plus the recent findings of the wrecks of the longstanding mystery of the HMAS Sydney/HSK Kormoran battle, my curiosity was piqued on the mysteries of the Indian Ocean. To this day, one of the most remote and unsurveyed areas on the planet. The mysteries of the deep there alone could fill volumes.
Speaking about the Indian ocean, now we have the MS370 Airliner setting on the bottom of the Indian ocean.
My uncle “Buck” was an engineer on a ore boat on the Great Lakes and they were training a new crew member on how to operate a auto coal loader. After a sufficient amount of time this crew member was left on his own. He one time didn’t push the off button all the way in (I’m assuming that this switch was a timer to shut down the coal feeder) and green coal was continuously being feed to the boiler. A little while later alarms were going off and safety valves were popping to release the steam pressure. The engineers decided to dump the steam down the vents that the burned coal went down in to the lake. This kept the boiler from exploding and going thru the upper decks. The captain had a long talk with the engineers and they told the captain that in school they never went through a situation like this ever.
Lloyds hired oceanographer to look into rouge waves causing a tremendous amount of damage to ships off the South African Coast and he said when there is a strong prevailing wind opposite a strong ocean current which happens from time to time in that location, killer waves are kicked up. He suggested that shipping needed look at the wind pattern and currents to figure out routes or timetables to avoid this deathtrap. I suspect that is what happened in this case. The current pattern in that area is known. See if the weather wind direction at that time could be determined. If a strong current and strong wind were running opposite each other, there is likely the answer.
That would be the Agulhas Current. When a current running one way meets wind and waves moving another way, the water in the current rushing against the incoming waves then thrusts those waves up into monsters. Common physics and geography at play here. Considering Cape Horn and Durban are in South America while the Agulhas is in South Africa, the Waratah would've likely met another current. That said, if the claims about her poor stability are true and I believe they are, then I doubt it would've taken a rogue wave to sink her.
‘Days and days, month to month, patient people helping immigrants to escape
stupidity or just enjoy bringing families waitin to see each other.
Thank you for these film reels, gives impetus to bring back travel ( with more modern communication and lifeboat drills by responsible leader s ).
Discussing the great builders can give us a much needed job and return to co-operation, like Reid, Henderson, Barclay - Curle , Robert Steele, Denny Bros.,
Alexander Stephen ? Where we are close to and seasonal need.
@@Kaidhicksii Durban is on the east coast of South Africa. The Agulhas current flows up the east coast of South Africa.
@@wietzepost Flows down the coast of South Africa -meaning in a southerly direction.
Correlation isn't causation, but it's almost certainly not a coincidence that a freighter with potential stability problems disappeared with the onset of a serious storm. Even large and well designed ships can succumb to rough seas if the conditions are severe enough. Either the ship is capsized or there are breaches which can cause flooding (e.g., busting open portholes, cargo hatches, etc.).
Having a list that suddenly changes to the other side is a classic sign of instability. Called 'angle of lol'. Caused by the GM and the righting moment being too close together ( if my 30 year old naval architecture class memory is correct. Heavy seas would cause the ship to capsize and the explosions would be from the boilers contacting cold water.
good info!
I love the Cello Suite you've chosen as the soundtrack! My favourite!!
What a video only 1/3 through so far; already one of your best!
The ship ran into a heavy storm, turned back to port due to heavy rolling and capsized. The boilers exploded on contact with sea water which is normal breaking the ship apart and causing her to sink rapidly leaving no survivors. She is right where the other captain said he saw a ship explode and could easily be found if someone would look with side scan sonar.
Sounds about right if that other captain was right and the ship he saw was the Waratah.
People have looked with side scan sonar and nothing was found
@@garrymartin6474 Sonar is incredibly complicated, dive teams have found cars in Lakes and Rivers that have already been checked by sonar. A lot of the time other sonar teams can find missing cars when it's been already been swept by another team multiple times already. For proof on my last statement check out Adventures with Purpose on youtube.
Yeah, my theory was a bit like that too.
If she came about in bad weather and broached a wave, she could have rolled if she was top heavy, and if so when water egressed, her boilers could have blown.
As a Sydneysider, thank you for covering the 'Waratah'. More Australian coverage welcome!
Spectacular video mate, bravo!
~Mike
Thank you! :)
What a coincidence! I am in the middle of rereading A. A. Hoehling’s 1984 book “Lost At Sea”. I finished the chapter on the disappearance of the Waratah yesterday afternoon. And today your new video pops up. I always enjoy your presentations. I think the storm got the Waratah. She rolled to port or starboard to such a degree that she could not right herself and capsized. That was a hell of a storm for such a tender ship that rolled even in much calmer seas. It likely happened so fast that the poor passengers and crew were trapped inside with no hope of getting out. The terror of their last minutes can only be imagined.
Ooh! New book (to me) alert! Thank you!
My great uncle was a Mariner, captaining many ships. He’d have loved this series. Thankyou. Reminding us of the danger those who travel the seas face. 🇦🇺
Dude, love the content. Also, you definitely have some editing and videomaking skills. The intro was phenomenally done. This is a superbly put together video--from the narration, the sounds, music, and images all come together. Keep up the hard work, you deserve many more subscribers. This is the kind of content I come to TH-cam specifically for. Thank you!
Yes! I’ve been waiting for this! Thank you for covering this tragedy, and bringing it into public attention. I would like to see a video about the Hamburg Amerika Line, and their liners of the 1920s, such as the S.S. Hamburg, S.S. New York, S.S. Albert Ballin, and S.S. Reliance and Resolute. These liners are largely forgotten yet have an interesting history.
Spooky this came up on my TH-cam feed today of all days, as I am currently reading a book by Clive Cussler who has incorporated the SS Waratah into one of his books (The Numa Files - Ghost Ship)! I'm glad to have subsequently learned more about her through this video. Thank you :)
i'm a strong believer that the waratah capsized. she was extremely top heavy, she had poor stability almost always listing, but she was beautiful despite her 1 voyage and 2 day life
counteracting the conflicts:
i believe she was usually overloaded to counteract her poor stability, hence why she was less often believed to have been unstable. my good friend liam sharpe made a documentary mentioning that the captain himself has demanded for blue anchor line to refit her to fix her stability, and got a refit yet that added even more heavy machinery on her upper decks.
Not to mention that guy’s freaky dream, too.
@@DerpyPossum the freaky dream.... I suspect was because of how stressed he was.
Beautiful? 🤣
Ok fine she did have that hardworking appearance which is nice. Still, inside? Yeah she was pretty. Outside? Lol.
And I just saw that doc in my recommended right now. This new piece of info will definitely incentivize me to watch.
Wait this was a new ship with only 1 voyage? Dang I think I misunderstood something at some point. Disregard my post up above then. In that case the Titanic comparison is warranted.
She wasn't overloaded beyond her marks, but certainly heavily loaded, final voyage and stable
Personal theory: the waratah encountered a large rogue wave at some point during her cresting of the cape of horn, large rogue waves are famous in the area, and more than capable of fully capsizing a ship with an unstable cargo load. If she flooded evenly, she would have likely gone nearly straight to the bottom, and been embedded in the soft silt clay at the ocean floor, Effectively sealing in all of the interior furnishings, cargo, and bodies, in a tomb of cement like-clay. Also, it isn’t impossible to imagine the strong currants of the southern sea may have overtime covered whatever parts of the hull were still exposed with a layer of silt, explaining the lack of any sonar or radar detection of a wreck. If this is true, it would have been a quick, but horrifying fate for her passengers and crew.
I'm still thinking she could also somehow end up in the Antarctic, or close to it.
It’s perhaps one of the spookiest stories you’ve ever told. This is excellent work.
Also congratulations on the merch and your as handsome as I had expected.
My question is what does the sea have against the name Waratah? 4 ships with that name disappeared, that just can't be coincidence. This is a tragic and weird disappearance and as you stated we will never know the answers that we seek. Great video as usual, keep them coming.
Would be interesting to see how many Waratahs were built which didn't sink...
@@chendaforest this was my thought... how many ships have the name, and how long have they sailed?
It's not keen on names containing the word "Titan". Both the Titan and Titanic sank.
@@neiloflongbeck5705 or any other ship name realistically. :p sooo many ships have been sunk over the years.
Oh but it most assuredly IS a coincidence. No other explanation.
My father came to the US from Belfast (technically from Londonderry) in 1923 as a toddler. Aboard the RMS Cameronia. About 5 years ago I asked him if he remembered anything of the voyage with a mother with 3 small children. There was something he recalled, his mother said everyone was sick on board but little Hughie was the only one not sick. I was at work one day shooting the breeze with an engineer & prior Navy ( I did not hold this against him as I am prior Air Force). I mentioned the story & we looked up the ship & it’s history said she was frequently unstable & was retrofitted & recalculated in 1926.
Anyway…I really do enjoy your videos.
In 1968 the S.S. World Glory of 28 000 tons was lost in the same area and in similar weather conditions when it was hit head-on by a massive wave which caused the ship to break in two and sink with loss of life. The most likely cause of the disappearance of S.S. Waratah, is that it also encountered what is termed an "Abnormal Wave". The subject is well-researched and a lot of information on this phenomena is available online. Africa Pilot Volume III describe Abnormal Waves as not having the normal sinusoidal wave-form but a very steep-fronted leading edge, as high as 65 feet, preceded by a very deep trough. They occur along South Africa's Wild Coast, just to seaward of the continental shelf where the Agulhas current is at its strongest but running against it in a northeasterly direction.
Was hoping to see more content!!! Keep up the great work!!!
I'll jump in before anyone else does. It's pronounced 'Jee-long' ;-)
Another Australian mystery loss is the SS Koombana. Similar to Waratah, she was a cargo liner, but was far more luxuriously appointed and was a much more handsome design. Curiously, she went missing in March 1912, barely a month before RMS Titanic. She sailed out from Broome, Western Australia, into the path of a powerful tropical cyclone and was never seen again. She's presumed missing somewhere off the North West coast.
Definitely a neglected tale and very few people would know of her.
I suppose what REALLY made Titanic famous is that... some of the people on board lived... and had the rest of their lives to talk about the disaster, publish books, white scripts for cinema... you know... the usual... Lost with all hands is more tragic, but less newsworthy since it's not an ongoing tale.
Sidney vs Kormoran was interesting because people didn't WANT to talk to or about the Germans who sank it, and the Sidney's crew all died. Then someone found it and realized the Germans had not only told the truth but done so in a very meticulous way... seriously, Kapitan Detmers wrote a book about it while in an Australian PoW camp. Never read the book, but I heard that it was considered to be a truthful account of the battle. It's also written from the PoV of a German ship captain so... it's an "inside baseball" perspective as the saying goes.
@@marhawkman303 the passenger list itself pretty much assured Titanic's legend
@@unbearifiedbear1885 well that too. But the fact some of them lived to talk about it made it even more so.
@@marhawkman303 you're right
Well, I think we know what happened to Koombana then. XD
I think some day these ships will be found. There are so many wreck hunters out there doing a great job at finding ships and planes ect.. I like the video. I had never heard of this one before. I believe it was most likely the stability issue and the storm as well.
So sad for the families, to be left not knowing what really happened. Thank You for the telling of the Waratah, I never heard of this ship.
I believe the algorithm is smiling on you, and I must say it is richly deserved. Keep em up.
Thank you!
The legend is back! So glad you're better now. :)
It’s concerning how fast I clicked on this video
Came straight from a video about El Faro to this, I have A Problem
Same here....
Maybe there is a charity out there that helps people like us? I have absorbed more content about maritime disasters in the past 3 months than I have almost anything else in my life.
The flawless way you combine footage, musical cues, and narration is really something to be proud of. It's practically an art itself.
Great video and treatment of the subject matter. Awesome images as well. Thanks so much for producing and sharing!
Thank you for doing this one! I’ve always been fascinated by this ship and her dissappearance.
The editing in this video is pure excellence!
love the eerie feel you put on these videos, you’re definitely one of the best out here making these videos
My dishwasher died so I put this on while washing dishes and enjoyed your soothing voice. When I was finished I came into the living room, Sault down and watched it two more times.
Great story. In surprised it isn't isn't well known.
This is a very sad story. May they all rest in peace. And best wishes with the launch of your merch.
OH yay another big old boats video, made my night , love your content. Cheers from Australia
Your channel deserves more views. Thank you for sharing your passion and showing us all great footage and great explanations! I have learnt so much! I used to only know about the Titanic but now I know so much more!
This channel is the number one spot for the big old ships that sailed the high seas. and so many ended up on the bottom. It be so cool to see these ship come back. Make them with modern steel but go back in time. I bet ppl would go nuts to go on ships like these. keep up the great work. my friend...
As many are grandchildren of Immigrants, i have been involved in building with modern steel A 606, 1018, iron for keel plate, stainless a little on keel plate, and all drilled with Black & Decker cord drill attached and not with rivet, yet screw stainless nut & bolt. Very frightened of going offshore. Have you viewed 2007
‘Viking Voyage’ of Roskilde all wood boat ? This longskip had a chase boat nearby at first to help when difficulties arose, such as Rudder part chaffing away.
Also provided relief for knee injury or anything emergency within resin. Coastal
East coast seasonal journey might bring back forgotten reliance on each other
through sail handling or just plain rowing shifts.
@@robertknowles2699 Being a welder 2nd generation. I find the ships of the late 1800 to 30's the most fascinating. My dad born in 1940 grandfather 1910 grandad 1889 who came from Ireland by steamship. And my great grandfathers brothers where ship builders in Ireland. But my great grandad wanted a better life so came to America by ship and worked on the docks. The stories I've heard about the big ships of the early 1900's where just truly amazing. I ve seen alot of the shows that you mentioned. But I'm talking about making a ships like canard line white star queen Mary. If they make them the same style just with modern materials but similar style with nothing but fine state rooms eligant dinning like the early 1900. No rollercoaster rides or circuses like the cruise ships we have today. Run the ships like the olden days. Ppl will definitely book trips arcoss the Atlantic and all the other seas like they did back when..
@@kevinmccaffrey3807 Hey Kevin, what a story you have ! Thanks for replying. I'm way over my head here, Hebr. FAITH and Scot-English Ma's side in Cleveland Ohio.
Dad conceived year before your Grandpa's in Yorkshire and born in Traverse City,, Michigan. My sis found
Log of Cutty Sark by Basil Lubbock who
wrote of 19 th century. These ships holes punched and riveted. On Caledonia, 'bout half size of original iron Denny Bros.. of 99 ft., I worced alone in Cedar Key. This was built on Leven River
originally. Equipment includes cold bending, & electric hand tools unlike steam drill and shear and expert bending
furnace/ slab with many able hands .
As a begginner, I used scieve board by different colored pencil on wallboard from Home Depot or Lowes and cold formed to these body frame lines. Lloyd's Rules for Composite Ships was copied on back of envelopes on a 1991
visit to Greenwich in London.
I live near Lake Erie & plan to somehow cross Alleghany mountains before autumn wind becomes dangerous. The draughtsman + designer William Denny had job in Coats & Young, Belfast, before combining talent with 2 Brothers on 1845. As you
indicate, there is furniture shop Denny
provided for the boat. I wanted to shape Elm garboards proportioned after
Cutty Sark by Henderson, foreman Carpenters, yet inability to fit into keel
rebate in 1992 required steel sheered in
similar length & begginner Hobart 220
Volt thick-to-thin weld .
What magnificent work by Greenock and Irish yards ! A green cookbook I have in Cedar Key shows
everyday small coastal wood Irish sail
sloop as built and necessary before many were torpedo ruined or sunk in 1916.
Hope you are safe on the weld job.
Any plan for a seasonal canoe shape
expanding to a near -shore travel boat
? Character of smaller boat might include square sail and numerous oarlocks like Nydam or early Celtic or Norse.
I was waiting for a major ship channel to do a video on the Waratah. Thank you!!! You made my day!!! :))
I read about the Waratah the first time in my college days. A cheap book about seafaring mysteries. This is the first video I've seen on the ship. It's such a maddening tale. There's so little information to go on. But this is a first rate video. Excellent content.
Very haunting and fantastic choice of music/score as always!
Interesting story. There were some other reports of the Waratah sighted as well. At 21:50 a ship was seen by the Guelph during a storm, and here people say either that the signaller thought he saw '-TAH' as the name of the ship, or that the mystery ship was saying 'tat tah'. There is also an account from the SS Strathspey, which also thought it had encountered the Waratah.
The Harlow account has been largely discredited and buried. It has emerged during the inquiry that a lighthouse keeper in the area failed to see any flashes out at sea that evening. It also emerged that the first mate of the Harlow thought the flashes were bushfires. Besides, as you correctly point out, it would have needed to turn around to be seen by the Harlow. And I'm sorry, but if an explosion happened it would leave a massive trail of wreckage in most cases. As such, there were reports of bodies, but these were discredited almost immediately.
For every person who said it was unstable, others said it was stable. If reports are to be believed, the instability was resolved on the second voyage. It also had survived a nasty storm in the Bass strait without issue before it disappeared.
There is, however, a notorious weather event which occurs in the exact area where the Waratah sank. Rogue wave encounters have resulted in the severe damage/sinking of more than 20 ships in that area. Records exist of bows being destroyed, ships being snapped in half, and there is satellite evidence that something incredible happens when a storm goes up against the direction of the current.
Based on all of that, most people, including me, now think that a 30-meter rogue wave sank the Waratah. Such a wave could have capsized the ship nearly immediately and smashed through the hull, pulling it down in moments. Any debris would have been trapped under the hull, explaining the absence of any wreckage ever found.
I've been subscribed for awhile and love all the videos, but this was the first time an intro unnerved me. When it switches over to the heartbeat you can actually feel yourself getting anxious watching this ominous fire burn off in the distance.
Another great video, Bradley. Love the cello music. Very appropriately mournful. Nice to see your face. You need to do that more often. 😁 Glad you're feeling better.
Sorry uhh I've watched many thousands of films of all genres, for a time, also professionally, and this intro has me floating! It's a PERFECT introduction into the gravity of the topic.
LOVE IT.
I feel like every time I check in on your work, your talent for telling a dramatic story suspensfully increases.
Love your channel...always a fascinating story with so many factual details. Great job !
I am sorry but that editing at the start is absolutely stunning, congratulations my guy that is top tier!
I really like your channel and content, and you have a perfect understated, calm voice for the subjects you cover. Thanks for sharing these stories.
Absolutely loved the editing and soundtrack of this! Awesome work!
SO good! Your hard work is seen, love the content
I requested this video, and I must say, it's better and more in-depth than any other video about the Waratah. What I think happened could have been that Waratah was a little top-heavy, which might've not been an issue for her first voyage, but there were no accounts of waves that huge hitting the liner. A rogue wave might've done the trick, and is something not every captain faces in their career, which could explain why an experienced captain like Joshua Edward Ilbery would take the Waratah out, as he might've not experienced a rogue wave before, even with 30 years of experience under his belt.
Another likely explanation could be that, with the rough seas, passengers might've been injured or seasick (or both), and Captain Ilbery decided to return to the safety of Durban to wait until the storm ceased and to get medical aid to the passengers and crew who could've been injured. Then, one of the ships' boilers exploded, sending the Waratah to the bottom.
The disappearance of the SS Waratah is a very interesting event, which rivals the Titanic disaster, as there is a lot we don't know about what happened to the Waratah.
Josiah, not Joshua. More likely to have been coal dust and methane exploding
fantastic documentaries. binging your catalog all weekend :)
Fantastic content as always mate! Cheers!
Awesome video bro! And congrats on the merch! Hope to see you in front of the camera more often! Have a good one! 😃
Here it is! Amazing as always.
your incredible storytelling really sets this channel apart. the intro about the reoccurring nightmare gave me chills. of course one could say mr. sayer’s concerns about the ship influenced his dreams. but it’s admittedly very eerie about the other sinkings of ships with the same name. my guess would be the ship rolled and couldn’t recover in the rough weather which also scattered any evidence that may have been left.
6:44 those are some massive waves when you consider the size of the ship. 😮
Wasn't expecting a face reveal! Nice to meet you and welcome back! The merch looks nice: Will definitely pick some up eventually. Now on to the subject at hand. I was already introduced to the Waratah in another video on a smaller channel - Ben Horror: go check him out he's not bad - and upon finishing I felt I had a pretty decent idea on what happened. Upon watching this, I've gotten a bit more context on what is otherwise a case with very little evidence.
To cut straight to the chase, my theory is she was simply an unsteady ship that was overwhelmed by the already ferocious storms of Cape Horn.
- Why would her captain, with all his years of experience, say that she had a stability problem to begin with? Why would passengers on her maiden voyage and her second voyage such as C.G. Sawyer say the same thing? That's not something you just say, and considering it was said by multiple people, I think it holds its weight.
- Moving on to Sawyer's dreams. As one who has dreamt about future events multiple times, lived them later and immediately got hit by deja vu _-(nothing big btw; they're usually as simple as my being in a certain place at a certain time and saying a certain thing, and then one day later being in the same place at the same time and saying the same thing)-_ not only can I confidently say that the dream about the figure with the sword and blood-stained rag screaming Waratah was a warning, but it wouldn't surprise me if his second dream seeing the ship struggling through the weather only to be broadsided and capsize was anywhere near accurate to what took place.
I don't take the claims by other people praising Waratah or her passing of her inspections seriously in the least:
- For the former, they were likely just laymen who knew nothing about the sea and ships. A happy voyage with no storms and a safe arrival equals a good voyage and a good ship for most people.
- For the latter, it's like what Josef Stalin (allegedly) said about voting: It's not those who cast the votes. It's those who count them. Likewise with a ship on her trials: It's not what the ship itself says through its performance. It's what those who either pass or fail it say in the final report. People are like that sometimes, taking something that's not ideal but signing it off anyway because it's either "good enough" or they just want the money. Such a thing could've easily been done with the Waratah, in that her stability was not ideal, but the company and the Board of Trade likely wrote it off as good enough to go.
Lastly, if the claim of the crew of the other vessel seeing a ship on fire, explode, and then vanish shortly after is true, and the ship in question was the Waratah, then it wouldn't be out of the question for that ship to have turned back around and try to run from the storm, but, having already labored much of the way through and then back, the engines could have been overwhelmed and thus explode. She'd then be left adrift and swallowed by a large wave. That said, I don't think this was the Waratah, but likely another vessel.
Before I go, in regards to the four previous ships named Waratah which then prematurely sank, I'm not necessarily a believer in superstitions such as bad luck and curses. Now I know I'm contradicting myself here since I took Sawyer's dreams seriously, but unlike the aforementioned superstitions, I've actually experienced phenomena similar to what that man did. That being said, I wouldn't name another ship Waratah, just to be safe. Alongside making sure ships are built to the absolute highest standard so accidents like these can be avoided, and I'd say this is the lesson we learned.
I would also say do a video on the disappearance of the SS President, but then again that story was pretty much the same as this. Still hope you do it though: that was the first shipwreck of a transatlantic liner on the transatlantic run after all. :D
first class editing and sound. your videos are not only interesting but a pleasure to watch
Your editing and audio is so good! *chef’s kiss*
Do a video of the Dara if you haven't yet. Big fan of you and this channel. Your passion comes out as well as respect for merchant seamen and their familes. Thanks again!
I applaud your artistry with this video.
I've never heard of this event before, it's a great story. Did you ever consider premiering this in October? It's kind of spooky.
Another great video. Thanks and keep up the good work!
Thank you for making these videos. You do good research and you have a good narrative voice. Again, Thank you!
Nicely edited and well-put together.
Amazing video as always and well worth the wait
The Waratah disappearence that I first read of decades ago concerned a long, narrow beam collier.
It was supposed that she came off a huge wave and entered the water in a very steep bow down angle.
After her bow entered the water, her momentum and weight drove her further down into the sea, and she just kept going.
I recall as a youngster thinking about her sailing normally, then, to the absolute terror of her Crew, she suddenly nosed steeply down coming off the huge wave and dove straight into the sea and was gone in an instant, hence the lack of any wreckage, lifeboats or bodies.
The crew only had time to experience their own deaths in the most horrific manner imaginable, completely disoriented, entombed in a pitch black, submerged vessel from which there was no escape, as water roared in through every opening and windows and portlights burst under the water pressure the deeper she dove.
No trace of her has ever been found.
You shocked me when you said that several other vessels of the same name had also disappeared without trace!
I'm neither religious, superstitious or a believer in mythology, but other than coincidence, what might explain the disappearence without trace of several vessels that shared the same name?
How many vessels with other names, any other names, have suffered the same fate as the Waratah?
The recurring nightmare the passenger on board the Waratah experienced, and which he believed to be a warning, would have had no relevance whatsoever, had she not disappeared without trace!
But she did, and so his inexplicable, recurring nightmares are of great significant relevance, its just extremely unfortunate that no one has any idea of what that relevance might be, or how to find out...
While I expect it simply rolled after several particularly bad waves... That IS what happened to the Fitzgerald in essence, potential damage from bottoming, water leaking in slowly, getting lower and plowing under the waves until one time it simply never came out
Great job on a mystery that has intrigued me since I first read about it as a boy! Please consider an episode on the Munchen, another intriguing mystery! Love your channel and appreciate your diligence in researching each case. BTW, I'd bet on a rogue wave. That area of the S. African coast is a rogue wave breeding ground due to winds countering the powerful Agulhas current. The mystery is how it hasn't been found yet, being relatively close to the coast...
silt
Congrats on the merch. Thanks for the video on this interesting story
Interesting for sure. When it left Australia it's manifest @6:20 included 7800 bars of bullion (as in gold?). I should think THAT would be a good reason to find the wreck if possible. The seas in the Durban to Cape Town area are noted to be extremely violent, so the apparent instability of the ship probably resulted in her demise thru a weather event. RIP the lost souls; but what about that bullion?
@@derklavierspieler7491 I personally have to wonder if maybe the ship was sunk by pirates. As the old saying goes "dead men tell no tales"
That’s usually enough to trigger a privateer search right enough.
@Beyond the Fringe heh, like I said in another comment thread... pirates aren't always privy to the exact manifest of a ship. If they see a partial and think it's juicy? they might hit it and get very disappointed.
But that's just theory crafting and speculation on my part. we have no real evidence for Or against.
@Beyond the Fringe Thanks for this. Answers our ?'s.
Interesting, maybe she was found... Most treasure hunters know, if you find a loot, don't tell the "authority"
I just came across your channel. I love these sorts of vids! Instantly subscribed. Keep it up, please!
Excellent video. Thanks for researching a doomed ship that most people, like me, would have never heard of.
I really enjoy your channel.
Great content Bradley
Can’t wait for my shirt to arrive. 😉
Three points. 1) At that time the only comfortable way to travel between Durban. intermediat ports, and Cape Town was by sea. My grandmother's family were seasoned travellers, having been to Kenya, Australia, Tasmania and N Zealand. They were booked to go to Port Elizabeth, I believe, when my grandmother went to look at the ship, the Waratah, and decided that she was too sheer-sided, i.e. too high out of the water, and would roll uncomfortably. They then rebooked for another ship.
2) The situation of the wreck of the Waratah was reported about ten years ago to have been identified, but the group which did so decided for several reasons not to reveal where. This was reported in the local papers. As the Mozambique-Augulhas current flows south at about 12 knots, the place of the sinking may have been well north of the final resting place.
3) I am, or was, a yachtsman, and yachting people have reported the S-E coast of S Africa as one of the world's more inhospitable. Also, it has been observed even by landsmen that two wave systems occasionally interact off this coast (where I now live) and produce sudden very high waves. Many seafaring people here believe that (1) and (3) combined to list the Waratah beyond her point of return, so that she went down in minutes - hence the lack of lifeboats, lifebelts and other detritus which would have been blown to shore by the prevailing south-easterly wind.
It was great to see the face housing the voice. I really feel you have a great presentation voice which seems to blend well with topic and also "smooth sailing" pace. Thank you for your hard work and historical value ... much appreciated !!
There are two more Australian shipwreck stories that are facinating mysteries, SS Koombana and SA Yongala. Both were lost in storms will all crew and passengers, the wreck of the Yongala was found 50 years after the loss but no trace of Koombana has ever been found.
Brilliant editing and wonderful storytelling 👍👍🙌🏻🙌🏻👏👏.
Great video mate
If you ever find it read Without Trace by John Harris. It's got a great chapter on the loss of the Waratah. It's got the story of 7 other missing ships, a great read.
You did a great job depicting the mystery and the violin and it was actually kinda creepy!
Ships love the Agulhas current, giving extremely fast boat speed for little fuel consumption. East to West. But in the wrong condition that current can produce immense rouge waves. I've sailed it 3 times heading against the current, all in a good sea state .
That’s a LOT of gold! Didn’t know that about her
yeah, makes you wonder, doesn't it? Pirates? this is the coast of Africa after all.
The music/sound effects were genius, thats how you set a mood.
A lot of greased palms between the officers, inspectors and even LoL... Only thing I can think of. Could the list make something explode like a boiler? Shit! And yeah I was gonna mention if the engine room fire had damaged something unseen and you brought up that point. Good work again 🤙
Your introspection at the end is so incredibly true!
Well done once again, thank you.
I seem to recall the SS Waratah is mentioned in a famous nautical thriller novel that postulated that the wild weather caused a localised sea level drop that ran the ship aground on a seamount only to be swamped with the return of the water level after the storm. A little far fetched but the book was excellent even if I cannot remember the title or the famous author! Very big target area for a side scan sonar search but there are companies out there that specialise in this kind of gamble. The payoff would be significant.
Geoffrey Jenkins.
Holes in the sea are far more frequent than people think, like rogue waves...
@@michaelcoe9824 You have tweaked my curiosity and now I will have to investigate!👍
Happy to see a video on the Waratah. After the Titanic, this is the second shipwreck I read as a little boy. I still hope that someone is able to find her one day. My personal theory is that she sank in deeper water further along her track after meeting with Clan MacIntyre.
thank you for the effort you put in to these vids