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| H W Schlichte Aelteste Brennerei Steinhagen ( juniper Gin ) |
I've had four attempts at diving what might be the Planteur, all in poor visibility, unfortunately. Discovering a German gin bottle was a promising start, given it's a German vessel. My goal was to find anything I could film for a video, but there's scarcely anything there. After finding the gin bottle, a piece of coal likely used for heating and cooking, and a scrap of iron, I believe I'm in the correct area.
There's no evidence of a wreck, but this is solid ground with no sand, so a wooden wreck would decay, be battered by tides for over a century, and later by trawlers, effectively erasing it from existence, as far as I can tell.
Two features lie north to south. A large rock appears on the sounder at the northern feature, where the gin bottle and other items were found, likely shielded from trawling. Swimming south, you cross over smaller rocks—possibly ballast stones?—to a cluster of small rocks.
We'll try again when the visibility is better. Magnum has unearthed some details about the Planteur, and below is what I've discovered and intended to include in the video:
LLoyds Register 1887 lists the Planteur (formerly Plantener), constructed in St Malo in 1867 by M Dandin, measuring 119.2 ft in length, with a 26.7 ft beam and a 14 ft moulded depth, and a net tonnage of 320. Managed by J H Voss from Stralzund, Prussia.
In the early hours of Tuesday, 18th October 1887, around 3 am, the Planteur, owned or partly owned and captained by Peter C Drews, was navigating westward down the channel after departing London for Cardiff to load coal. She was destined for Buenos Aires, but near Beachy Head, she collided with the steamer Upupa, en route from Southampton to London.
The Board of Trade Inquest established after the incident provides a detailed account of the collision and the estimated position. For more information, see wrecksite.eu. Like many wrecks we dive, I cannot assert with certainty that it is the Planteur; it's merely an educated guess based on the location.
When the Planteur was struck on the starboard bow, it began to sink rapidly, prompting the Upupa to order a boat lowered. However, before it could touch the water, the Planteur had already sunk. A seaman named Franz Farl, along with Captain Peter Drews, was rescued from the water. The mate, Mr. Richard Hill, was pulled aboard the Upupa.
Farl reported that he was below deck at the time of the collision, as was Chief Mate Hill. Farl was roused by the violent ringing of the Planteur's bell, while the Chief Officer was awakened by the Channel Pilot, George Milne, shouting, "What are you trying to do there!?" Before either could reach the deck, the ships had collided.
Captain Drews was brought onto a boat lowered by the Upupa. Dr. JT Harty, a passenger from the Upupa who had leaped into the boat to assist in the rescue, attempted unsuccessfully with another passenger, Dr. Duff, to save the Captain. According to Dr. Harty, the Captain was already deceased when retrieved from the water.
The Captain's wife, Mathilde Drews, was also on board. She had hurried onto the deck in her nightdress as the collision occurred, standing next to Richard Hill, the mate. He reported that she was silent, and moments later, they were submerged, marking the last time he saw her.
Tragically, Peter Drews and his wife Mathilde had their daughter Emma with them, a five-year-old who was also lost in the incident.
In total, 11 individuals perished, including Mathilde Drews' brother, Henrich Voss, who was a passenger. The casualties included sailors Hermann Lutha and Gustav Letz, cabin boys Hans Eggert and Albert Rokilzi, cook Karl Wulf, carpenter Moritz Brandt, and the channel pilot George Milne.
After searching for some time, the Upupa continued its journey to London, where the two survivors from the Planteur, along with the Captain, were landed. An inquest into the Captain's death was promptly held upon arrival in London by Mr. Wynne E. Baxter, a solicitor whose name is well-known in these parts. The firm still operates, now under the name Mayo Wynne Baxter. Wynne Baxter, known for being the Coroner for several of Jack the Ripper's murders in 1888, had conducted an inquest at the White Hart pub in Whitechapel at the end of October 1887 into the case of Peter Drews. The jury concluded that Drews had drowned following a collision.
I was unable to locate his burial site. However, his wife Mathilde was discovered ashore on the 9th of November at Ramsgate by an individual named Robert Baker. She had a gold ring with the initials MD on one finger, and nearby, a woolen stocking also bearing the initials MD was found. She was transported to the police station, where an inquest was held by Mr. Martin, the coroner. Richard Hill, the mate, identified the body as Mathilde Drews, the captain's wife. Prior to Mathilde's burial, the German sailing ship 'C Neumann Gaedebehn' almost wrecked at Deal. William Adams, a boatman from Deal, spotted the ship heading ashore from the lookout station. He gathered a crew and went to the rescue, ultimately saving the ship and its crew by towing them to safety in Ramsgate harbour.
The captain and crew of the German ship attended Mathilde's funeral, accompanied by the German Vice Consul. A German flag covered the coffin, and Rev E Havergal delivered the sermon. I believe she was interred in Ramsgate cemetery, but I have had no luck locating her either.
