SV Paul
Encyclopedia
The SV Paul was a four-masted fore-and-aft rigged windjammer
, launched in Seattle in 1919. Originally named Mount Whitney she was sold to new German owners in 1924 and renamed Margaret Sayer, finally in 1925 she was acquired by Flensburg
owners and renamed 'Paul'.
to St. John, Newfoundland
and loaded 2,000 tons of timber at Halifax for Dublin. On 30 October she ran into severe gales, losing many sails and her anchors; eventually grounding on the Cefn Sidan
sands as without any auxiliary motive power she was unable to make an escape. On this occasion she had a crew of twelve, with a cook, the master and a teenage stewardess Another reference cites her grounding as being on November 5, 1925.
Several tugs came up from Cardiff and failed in an attempt to refloat her. A salvage company took on 26 local men and salvaged the timber cargo. Most of the timber was made into rafts and floated over to the nearby railway line at Bertwn.
's Cefn Sidan sands translates as 'silken back', describing the smooth flat stretch of over 7 miles of sand and the Paul is the largest remaining timber wreck to be seen on the Cefn Sidan sands of the 182 vessels are recorded as being wrecked here. The unloaded hulk has shifted position and coastline alterations mean that she now lies within the Gwendraeth estuary
. The construction being massive, and the site being protected from the worst of the storms has meant that the wreck has only slowly broken up. The substantial timbers held together by innumerable wrought-iron fastenings are still apparent. Much has been stripped from the wreck over the years and bullet holes indicate its use as a target before the establishment of the holiday camp.
and the old farm of Tanylan Isaf (previously Danylan) nearby has beams made from ship's timbers.
The aforementoned hatchets of the gwyr-y-bwelli-bach were said used to have been used to cut off swollen fingers of casualties bearing gold rings, etc. Fifty arrests are known to have been made of locals plundering wrecked vessels over the years and at least thirty mariners are unfortunate enough to have perished on the sands of the Cefn Sidan
area.
According to local accounts, an attempt to salvage the entire ship failed. The ship was filled below deck with barrels, hoping that the extra buoyancy would raise the ship at high tide. Unfortunately, all this achieved was the decking gave way under the force, ruining most of the integrity of the ship and making it practically impossible to salvage whole. Part of the wreck is still there to this day. (Dec 2009)
Windjammer
A windjammer is the ultimate type of large sailing ship with an iron or for the most part steel hull, built to carry cargo in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century...
, launched in Seattle in 1919. Originally named Mount Whitney she was sold to new German owners in 1924 and renamed Margaret Sayer, finally in 1925 she was acquired by Flensburg
Flensburg
Flensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig...
owners and renamed 'Paul'.
Shipwreck and salvage
In 1925 the Paul crossed the Atlantic from CadizCádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
to St. John, Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
and loaded 2,000 tons of timber at Halifax for Dublin. On 30 October she ran into severe gales, losing many sails and her anchors; eventually grounding on the Cefn Sidan
Cefn Sidan
Cefn Sidan, roughly translated from Welsh, means "Silky Back". This long sandy beach and its dunes form the outer edge of the Pembrey Burrows between Burry Port and Kidwelly, looking southwards over Carmarthen Bay in South Wales....
sands as without any auxiliary motive power she was unable to make an escape. On this occasion she had a crew of twelve, with a cook, the master and a teenage stewardess Another reference cites her grounding as being on November 5, 1925.
Several tugs came up from Cardiff and failed in an attempt to refloat her. A salvage company took on 26 local men and salvaged the timber cargo. Most of the timber was made into rafts and floated over to the nearby railway line at Bertwn.
Archaeology
PembreyPembrey
Pembrey is a village in Carmarthenshire Wales, situated between Burry Port and Kidwelly, overlooking Carmarthen Bay.-History:The name Pembrey is an Anglicisation of the Welsh, Pen-bre...
's Cefn Sidan sands translates as 'silken back', describing the smooth flat stretch of over 7 miles of sand and the Paul is the largest remaining timber wreck to be seen on the Cefn Sidan sands of the 182 vessels are recorded as being wrecked here. The unloaded hulk has shifted position and coastline alterations mean that she now lies within the Gwendraeth estuary
River Gwendraeth
The River Gwendraeth is a river in Carmarthenshire in west Wales.It has two almost equal branches that have their confluence in their joint estuary at Carmarthen Bay...
. The construction being massive, and the site being protected from the worst of the storms has meant that the wreck has only slowly broken up. The substantial timbers held together by innumerable wrought-iron fastenings are still apparent. Much has been stripped from the wreck over the years and bullet holes indicate its use as a target before the establishment of the holiday camp.
Local history
Significant quantities of the Paul's cargo are said to have ended up in the hands of locals. Long prior to the Paul's loss, locals had become known as the 'Gwyr-y-bwelli-bach' (literally hatchet men), because in local legend they were accused of displaying lights to confuse & then attract shipping onto the sands. A so called 'Wrecker's' window survives in Bryn Towi cottage on the lane running up to Tanylan Farm from the GwendraethRiver Gwendraeth
The River Gwendraeth is a river in Carmarthenshire in west Wales.It has two almost equal branches that have their confluence in their joint estuary at Carmarthen Bay...
and the old farm of Tanylan Isaf (previously Danylan) nearby has beams made from ship's timbers.
The aforementoned hatchets of the gwyr-y-bwelli-bach were said used to have been used to cut off swollen fingers of casualties bearing gold rings, etc. Fifty arrests are known to have been made of locals plundering wrecked vessels over the years and at least thirty mariners are unfortunate enough to have perished on the sands of the Cefn Sidan
Cefn Sidan
Cefn Sidan, roughly translated from Welsh, means "Silky Back". This long sandy beach and its dunes form the outer edge of the Pembrey Burrows between Burry Port and Kidwelly, looking southwards over Carmarthen Bay in South Wales....
area.
According to local accounts, an attempt to salvage the entire ship failed. The ship was filled below deck with barrels, hoping that the extra buoyancy would raise the ship at high tide. Unfortunately, all this achieved was the decking gave way under the force, ruining most of the integrity of the ship and making it practically impossible to salvage whole. Part of the wreck is still there to this day. (Dec 2009)