For almost one-hundred years, the hull of the German ship that sank during the First World War has been, for the most part, obscured from view. But now, thanks to the ferocious storms that have been battering Britain’s coasts, the wreck of the SV Carl has been brought to light. Giant waves have stripped away almost 3 feet of sand, revealing the steel ribs of the 60 foot vessel at its final resting place at Booby’s Bay near Padstow in north Cornwall.
The SV Carl met its demise in a fierce storm on October 7, 1917. It is believed that the ship, which was registered in Hamburg, was in Cardiff docks at the outbreak of the war in 1914 and so was impounded. Three years later, it was being towed to London to be broken up for scrap when it broke free in the storm. The ship was stripped of anything useful and eventually washed up ashore, but is in remarkably good condition considering that it has been pounded and buried by tons of sand for almost a century.
However, the shipwreck is already beginning to disappear as the sand is threatening to cover and bury it once more.