Ghostly shipwrecks emerge during River Exe's lowest tide
An exceptionally low tide on the River Exe has revealed what remains of a wartime shipwreck - abandoned by its crew more than 80 years ago. 'The South Coaster' sunk beneath the water in 1943.
The ghostly vessel made a rare appearance above the water this week when the waters of the Exe estuary receded. The South Coaster looked in relatively fine shape considering her age - her bows and hull clearly visible to train passengers at Starcross.
It comes as coastal engineers predict very low tides in the UK. Due to climate change they may even be the lowest anyone will see again, says the BBC.
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The South Coaster was built in 1916 by John Berg of Delfzijl in the Netherlands. In 1943 the boat had been permitted by the Admiralty to transport coal from Marsden in West Yorkshire to Exmouth.
But despite many ships successfully passing through in previous attempts, due to Exmouth's narrow channel and large sand bank to one side, the South Coaster struggled to reach the other end.
After eight days of being stuck in the estuary it eventually left the crew with no choice but to abandon ship. A lifeboat came to rescue the 13 members of staff onboard after a final decision had been made.
The wreck is usually submerged under water in high tide with occasional glimpses visible above the surface.
In 2021 Exeter City Council announced a clean up of the Exe and vowed to remove 25 abandoned boats in varying forms of decay. But as photos show the South Coaster is not the only vessel that never made it dock. A number of other rotting wrecks cam still clearly been seen at low tide.
According to experts the position of the moon and sun will create an "exceptionally" low tide. Coastal engineer Hamish Hall from Moffatt & Nichol explained they are caused by an unusual series of events.
The movement of the moon is coinciding with the September equinox when the gravitational pull of both heavenly bodies align more closely.
Mr Hall said: "It's probably another 10 years before we see this type of low tide again. With sea level rise projections we may never see this predicted low tide again."
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