Shipwrecks of Cape Race, Newfoundland

Cape Race, Newfoundland, juts into the Atlantic Ocean and serves as a critical landmark for eastbound Trans-Atlantic vessels before they can safely continue towards the British Isles and beyond.     Often enveloped in fog, the waters off Cape Race pose significant navigation hazards due to the shifting Gulf Stream and drifting icebergs carried south on the Labrador Current.     The Gulf Stream flows from the Straits of Florida, passing Cape Cod before veering east toward Ireland. This powerful current has carried several abandoned vessels from the waters off Cape Race to a single beach in Ireland.     In winter, the Gulf Stream stays over 100 miles offshore from Cape Race. In summer, it shifts closer to the coast. Its force is so strong that vessels sailing along its northern edge can be pushed northward off course up to 100 miles and directly into the rocky shores of Cape Race and the Avalon Peninsula.     Eastbound vessels frequently ran aground on the west-facing shores of the Cape Race area, while westbound vessels struck the east-facing shores. Meanwhile, those sailing along the southern edge of the Gulf Stream were often forced far out to sea to the south.

        A few of the hundreds of vessels lost around Cape Race include:

    1816.10.24 - British frigate HMS COMUS - 522 ton - stranded in fog at St. Shotts
    1816.11.10 - British transport HARPOONER - 370 ton - stranded in fog at St. Shotts carrying soldiers
    1822.06.22 - British sloop HMS DRAKE - 235 ton - stranded at St. Shotts
    1833.05.09 - British ship HARVEST HOME - 376 ton - stove in by ice off Cape Race
    1840.08.09 - American brig FLORENCE - 200 ton - stranded near Cape Race - 50 lost
    1854.09.07 - British steamer CITY OF PHILADELPHIA - 2,150 ton - stranded in fog at Chance Cove
    1854.09.27 - American side-wheeler ARCTIC - 2,856 ton - collided with steamer VESTA - sank off Cape Race
    1859.06.28 - British steamer ARGO - 1,815 ton - stranded at Mistaken Point
    1859.11.21 - British Allan liner INDIAN - 1,746 ton - stranded at Mistaken Point
    1863.04.27 - British Allan liner ANGLO SAXON - 1,750 ton - stranded at Clam Cove
    1869.08.08 - German steamer GERMANIA - 2,100 ton - stranded in fog at Mistaken Point
    1877.01.05 - British steamer GEORGE CROMWELL - 802 ton - stranded at Cape St. Marys
    1877.01.20 - American steamer GEORGE WASHINGTON - 804 ton - stranded at Mistaken Point
    1900.01.10 - German steamer HELGOLAND - 2,381 ton - stranded at Cape Pine
    1901.07.08 - Scottish steamer DELMAR - 2,374 ton - stranded at Cappahayden
    1912.04.15 - British White Star liner TITANIC - 46,329 ton - collided with iceberg off Cape Race
    1912.12.20 - British Furness-Withy liner FLORENCE - 2,492 ton - stranded at St. Shotts
    1913.03.03 - Newfoundland sealer LABRADOR - 436 ton - stranded at Branch, St. Mary's Bay
    1914.03.31 - Scottish sealing steamer SOUTHERN CROSS - 537 ton - lost in blizzard at St. Shotts
    1917.07.14 - Norwegian liner KRISTIANIAFJORD - 10,669 ton - stranded in fog at Mistaken Point
    1918.02.24 - Newfoundland sealing steamer FLORIZEL - 3,081 ton - stranded near Cappahayden - 94 lost
    1919.12.29 - Dutch steamer ANTON VAN DRIEL - 2,522 ton - stranded at St. Shotts
    1923.05.21 - Canadian Pacific liner MARVALE - 11,438 ton - stranded at St. Shotts
    1924.02.01 - Canadian schooner PRESIDENT COAKER - 304 ton - stranded at Cape Ballard
    1942.03.01 - German submarine U-656 (poss. U-565) - 500 ton - sunk by US. aircraft off Cape Race
    1942.08.04 - British steamer EMPIRE OCEAN - 6,765 ton - stranded then sank off Cape Race
    1947.07.19 - Newfoundland steamer MEIGLE - 1,060 ton - stranded at St. Shotts
    1948.04.29 - Canadian motor vessel ADMINISTRATRIX - 120 ton - collided with LOVADAL, sank off Cape Ballard
    1949.11.22 - Canadian motor ship HARCOURT KENT - 1,076 ton - stranded at St. Shotts
    1954.07.15 - Newfoundland schooner MARVITA - 121 ton - stranded at Cape Ballard
    1982.02.15 - American oil-rig OCEAN RANGER - 18,818 ton - foundered in storm of Cape Race

      References:
    Canadian Sessional Papers - Marine Branch - Annual List of Wrecks (1870? to 1936?)
    Transport Canada - Transportation Safety Board Statement of Shipping Casualties (1896+)
    Lloyd's Register of Shipping, Casualty Returns (1890 to 1976)
    Customs Canada - Port of Registry Records - Atlantic Ports (1778 to 1920?)
    Lists of Wrecks on Coast of Newfoundland - Robert White (1903)
    Newfoundland Newspapers (microfilm) - Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University (1810-1920?)
    History of Newfoundland - D. W. Prowse (1895)
    Book of Newfoundland - Joseph Smallwood (1937)
    Newfoundland Historical Society (1979)
    Maritime History Archive - Memorial University (1980)