More information : 'went aground in thick mist on the rocks. Senior Coastguard Officer Alfred Kliskey was walking along the cliffs just before midnight on the Sunday, when he heard a ship strike the cliffs a few yards from the look-out. The ship's siren then sounded an S.O.S., followed by distress rockets.Having assembled the LSA crew, they set off the 1.25 miles over rough ground carrying their equipment, until they reached a spot overlooking the wreck. Their first rocket line landed right across the deck. in the meantime the St Ives lifeboat had launched and two St Ives LSA teams also rushed to the scene, so that there were no less that 47 'officials' at the scene. Within two hours of going ashore, the shipwrecked crew were in the St Ives Seaman's Misison enjoying a hot drink.' (1) This source gives the vessel's dimensions as 39.38 x 7.53 x 2.96 m, and its tonnage as 300 gross.
'On a voyage from Cardiff to Ostend the 430 ton German coaster Traute Sarnow carrying coal struck the rocks in a thick mist close to Gurnard's Head. The St. Ives lifeboat was sent and within a few hours the six crew of the Traute Sarnow and the captain's dog had all been rescued by Breeches buoy.
Source: The St. Ives Times, July 30th 1954' (2) This source shows a photograph of the vessel where she stranded.
'Built at Flensburg in 1951, this 300-ton, eight-cylinder, oil engined coaster was carrying anthracite from Cardiff to Ostend when she drove ashore on the east side of Gurnard's Head shortly before midnight on 25 July 1954. Captain Heinrich Sarnow sounded the ship's siren and fired off a number of distress rockets. All the crew were saved. The vessel broke up in a west-south-westerly gale two days later.' (3)
Source 4 gives the vessel's dimensions as 39.4 x 7.5 x 3 m and the tonnage as 300 gross.
Source 5 gives the vessel's dimensions as 39.4 x 7.5 m and the tonnage as 300 gross / 438 DWT.
Source 7 shows a series of 1954 photographs of the vessel running aground, and grounded on Gurnard's Head.
Built: 1951 (1)(3)(4) (5)
Builder: Machnenb (1)(4); Johannsen Sorensen (5)
Where built: Flensburg, DEU (1)(4)(5)
Propulsion: Screw-driven 8-cylinder oil-engine (1)(3)
Owner: Heinrich Sarnow (1)(6)
Captain: Heinrich Sarnow (3)(6)
Crew: 6 (1)(2)
Date of loss qualifier: Actual date of loss
Additional sources cited in Shipwreck Index of the British Isles:
WMN 27.07.1954 (Tue)(R)
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