Nine ships were wrecked and 208 lives lost in Table Bay during a severe gale at the Cape, proving again that the Cape was quite aptly called 'Cape of Storms' (Cabo das Tormentas) by Bartholomeu Dias, the first Portuguese explorer to reach the Cape in 1488. There are more than 2 000 shipwrecks, dating back at least 500 years, off the SA coast.
eventREF E-0010854Revised
Event record
9 Ships run ashore in Table Bay
- Date
- 21 May 1737
- Updated
- 2 May 2019
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South African History Online. (2011, March 16). 9 Ships run ashore in Table Bay. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010854
South African History Online (2011) '9 Ships run ashore in Table Bay', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010854 (Accessed: 20 August 2026).
South African History Online, 9 Ships run ashore in Table Bay [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010854, (accessed 20 August 2026).
"9 Ships run ashore in Table Bay." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010854. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.
South African History Online. "9 Ships run ashore in Table Bay." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010854.
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