| Summary : 1914 wreck of Danish schooner which foundered 28 miles ENE of Sunderland after being mined, having just departed Sunderland for Svendborg with coal and coke. Constructed of oak and pine in 1901, she was a sailing vessel. She was one of six vessels all lost within 24 hours in the same minefield: for the others, please see GOTTFRIED, 1473042 / NU 31 SW 27; CRATHIE, 1002310 / NZ 46 NE 71; THOMAS W IRVIN, 1366041 / NZ 46 NE 93; BARLEY RIG, 1366064 / NZ 46 NE 94; and SKULI FOGETI, 1002311 / NZ 46 NE 70. |
More information : Vessel sank after striking a mine thought to have been laid by a German submarine. Position of loss quoted as (2). (1)(3)
Mined in the North Sea 28 miles ENE of Sunderland, en route from Sunderland to Svendborg with coal and coke. (2)
GAEA, three-masted schooner, built at Taasinge of oak and pine; valued at 48,380 kroner, and insured for 40,300. Departed Sunderland for Svendborg with coal on 27-AUG-1914, and at about 12 noon she fell victim to a heavy explosion, and sank shortly after. Four of her crew, clinging to the wreckage, were picked up by a British torpedo-boat and landed at North Shields. Conditions were a light breeze at NNW.
The names of the dead men were: Severin Nielsen of Troense; Knud Arentsen Lyllge of Kjerteminde and Oscar Bengtsson of Hellerup. (4)(6)
'On the morning of Thursday, August 27, 1914, we were lying in the Tyne in touch, as usual, with our outlying patrols, when, at about 4.30am, we received a signal from one of our torpedo-boats . . .
'She told us that an Icelandic trawler, the SKULI FORGETI [sic], had been blown up by a mine...It happened about 30 miles to the eastward of the Tyne . . .
'Torpedo Boat No.13, who was out by the minefield with the sweepers, told us during the afternoon that a Danish sailing ship had been blown up and sunk. T.B. 13 also said that she was anchored right on top of the minefield, and that some of the mines were 15 feet down, some at 4 feet and some on the surface. For some time she could not find a way out, and told us she had felt mines scraping across her bottom when she went ahead.
'So far as I can gather, the following are the casualties . . . ENA [sic] Danish sailing ship, 3 killed . . .
'That particular minefield, containing 194 mines, had beel laid by the German minelayer ALBATROS escorted by the cruiser STUTTGART soon after dark on August 26 . . . ' (5)
'NORTH SEA MINES.
'TWO MORE VESSELS SUNK.
'MENACE TO NEUTRAL SHIPPING.
'According to a Lloyd's telegrame from Tynemouth, the Danish three-masted schooner GAEA, from Sunderland for Svendborg, struck a mine about noon on Thursday in the North Sea and foundered. Three of the crew were drowned, and three survivors were picked up and brought into Tyne on Thursday night.' (7)
Built: 1901 (1)(3)(4)
Builder: Poulsen & Jensen (1)(3)
Where Built: Svendborg (1)(3); Taasinge (4)
Additional Construction Details: 3 masts (1)(3)(4)
Master: H V Petersen (1)(3); H Petersen (4)
Crew: 7 (4); 6 (7)
Crew Lost: 3 (4)(7)
Owner: Et Aktieselskab. (1)(3); C V Petersen (4)
Insurer: Svendborg Soassur. (4)
Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss
Additional sources cited in Shipwreck Index of the British Isles:
LR.1914-15 No.15(G)
LCR 1914 p11(i) |