'Guarany'

Wreck off Sully - German Barque Ashore - All Hands Saved. - During Tuesday night the Penarth lifeboat was called out, information having been received of a barque ashore at Sully. The lifeboat was quickly manned, and, towed by the steam tug Fastnet, proceeded outwards and found the German barque Guarany ashore on the west side of Sully. The crew, who were in a perilous position, had been all rescued, but the vessel it is feared will become a total wreck. The vessel was loaded with coal for Buenos Ayres.

The Guarany is a German barque, 584 tonnage, and is owned by Messrs A. Prommel and Co., of Hamburg. She left Newport on Tuesday, the 15th inst., intending to sail for Buenos Ayres for orders, and carried a cargo of 858 tons of coal. The crew consisted of 15 all told, including the master, Captain Bauermeister, Mrs Bauermeister, and child F. Lahusen, chief mate; C. Suhrbier, second mate; Henry Smith, steward; O. Rubenius, carpenter; Carl Bauermeister, the captain's brother and seven sailors, one of whom is an Englishman named Martin. Having left Newport on Tuesday week, she was towed by the tug Lady Morgan as far as Nash Point, but was obliged to put back owing to stress of weather. The vessel anchored in Penarth Roads on Tuesday night last week, and was unable to put out again until Monday last, when she was taken in tow by the tug Salvor, which left her abreast of Lundy. The Guarany then continued her course with a fair wind to the south, but when she was 30 miles or so to the west of the island the wind veered right west and a severe gale was encountered. The master describes it as a terrible hurricane with very heavy seas, which repeatedly washed over the decks. The captain turned the vessel once more up Channel, and on Tuesday morning, between 10 and 11 o'clock, found shelter on the lee of Lundy for a couple of hours.

The Captain's Narrative - The captain, in an interview with our representative on Wednesday, said ;— The gale was so severe that many of our sails were blown into shreds, and the decks were simply cleared of all moveable objects. We tried to anchor behind Lundy, but it was blowing so hard that we could not get behind the island. We failed to anchor, and there were other two vessels further inward than we were trying also to anchor. We saw two or three pilot boats and signalled to them, but they did not trouble themselves and made no effort to come aboard, and we were consequently compelled to hand up Channel without a pilot. We lost a good deal of time in trying to get the pilots to come to us, otherwise I believe I could have come up Channel and found anchor in daylight.

About 9 o'clock last night we got to Barry Roads and dropped two anchors. About half an hour before this the tug Lady Windsor came alongside. The tug called out to me to let go the anchors at once, and I took his advice. Then the tug called out, your anchors are dragging, and I found that we were dragging our anchors. The wind blew so terrific that I could scarcely distinguish what the tugboat said but when we were putting buoys on the anchor chains I arranged that the tug should take us to Barry or somewhere. When we found that we were being blown ashore we signalled to the tog to come alongside, but she kept clear of the ship. Whether the tugboat had water or not I can't say. I am not making a complaint, but merely stating the fact, but I believe I have a good reason to complain that the pilots did not come aboard us at Lundy.

The vessel struck on Sully Island about half-an-hour later, and then the tug sent up a blue light signal, and after that left us altogether—possibly to fetch a lifeboat, but I cannot tell. We could not get the sounding rod down at all, the vessel was heeling over too much. In fact we could not get any soundings. Soon after the vessel struck the tide receded and left us high and dry. The coastguard and other people came there, and all advised us not to stay aboard. We thereupon constructed a kind of a stage, and about 11.30 p.m. got the missus and the baby out, lowering them over with ropes. The chief officer and I remained aboard until all had cleared out, and we were able during the night to get our clothes, boxes, and other goods ashore and pile them on Sully Island.

Mr Gibbings, chief coastguardsman at Penarth, on learning the dangerous situation of the barque, proceeded at once to get the lifeboat crew together, and it says something for the promptitude displayed that the 15 members were got together and on the scene of the disaster within an hour and a half. When the lifeboat hove alongside the distressed barque all the crew had landed. Mr Gibbings left two men to watch the barque.

The shipwrecked crew found hospitable shelter at Sully House, the residence of Mrs Rees, the widow of the late magistrates' clerk of Cardiff. The captain, his wife and child, and the officers were accommodated in the house, while the crew found comfortable quarters in the coachhouse. Our representative, on visiting the scene of the wreck on Wednesday morning, found the vessel high and dry on the western side of the island. Master and crew were found at Sully House, and all were loud in their praise of the generous hospitality extended to them in their hapless condition by Mrs Rees and her sons.

It transpired that, although both anchors had been lowered with 45-fathom chains to one and 60 fathoms to the other, no anchorage was found, and the vessel struck with such force that little hope can be entertained of saving her from becoming a complete wreck. The keel is broken for its entire length, while some of the fore and aft fastenings, the stern and stem, and the rudder are damaged it is feared beyond repair.

She is now lying on the starboard side. The captain visited Cardiff in the afternoon to make arrangements, if possible, for getting her off at night although he declared he had little hopes of accomplishing his object, for he feared the vessel would sink as soon as she would be taken off, and there was danger of her becoming a total wreck during the next tides. She is an old composite barque, but strongly built, otherwise she could not have survived her experiences of the last few days. So violently did she thump during the gale that it was impossible to keep any of the lamps aboard alight, and several paraffin lamps exploded in the attempt.

On Wednesday the wreck was visited by many hundreds of people from Barry, and willing help was given to the crew in carrying ashore all that possibly could be saved from the ill-fated vessel. This was Mrs Kauermeister's first voyage with her husband, she having joined the vessel at Cork before she proceeded to Newport. Efforts have been made throughout the night and this morning to float the German barque Guarany, which went ashore off Sully during Tuesday's gale. The vessel is firmly embedded in the shingle and cannot be moved, and it is feared she will be lost.' - The Cardiff Times [019] [361] 26th September 1896.