MelissaA
Brenton
Shilpa Karhik
One SHIP Of A Coincidence!
February 3rd 2008 23:30
Some coincidences and incidents in life are just so bizarre it beggars belief!
However such strange coincidences do occur, but still you cannot help but shake your head and wonder.
One such example is that of the ship The Mermaid.
In 1829, The Mermaid was 4 days out from Sydney Harbour, Australia when an intense storm struck. Between high winds and heavy rains, the ship was finally dumped onto a reef where it began breaking apart. The crew managed to swim towards a rocky outcrop where they were rescued three days later by the crew of another passing vessel, the Swiftsure
The Swiftsure then encountered an extremely strong current that the crew were unable to counter. The ship was therefore swept on to rocks and also wrecked. The crew of The Mermaid found themselves abandoning ship for a second time.
Eight hours later the schooner Governor Ready already carrying thirty-two people and a full cargo of timber saw their plight and was able to squeeze the survivors from both the Mermaid and Swiftsure on board.
Three hours later, Governor Ready caught fire! The fire spread rapidly thanks to all the added timber on board. The ship was abandoned once more with the aid of longboats.
The Comet, a government ship then appeared unexpectedly, and all were rescued....again!
The crew of the Comet heard the story and considered that the crew of The Mermaid were in fact jinxed, but having passed three shipwrecks without trouble, they decided that good luck was on their side.
But just 5 days later a sudden squall sprang up. With her mast lost, sails in tatters, and rudder gone, the crew of the Comet took to their longboats, abandoning the jinxed crewmen to their own resources.
Clinging to broken up pieces of the ship, the survivors weary and having to fight off sharks were again picked up from their soggy situation by the crew of the Jupiter,
Just 12 hours later, yes, you guessed it, the Jupiter sank!
All were eventually picked up by another ship, The City of Leeds.
Four days later, the City Of Leeds, docked in Sydney Harbour!
But there was one final coincidence to come. On board one of the final vessels, the Jupiter was an elderly lady from Yorkshire, Sarah Richey, who had come to Australia to search for her son Peter who had been missing for over fifteen years. As it turned out, Peter was one of the original crew of the Mermaid.
However such strange coincidences do occur, but still you cannot help but shake your head and wonder.
One such example is that of the ship The Mermaid.
In 1829, The Mermaid was 4 days out from Sydney Harbour, Australia when an intense storm struck. Between high winds and heavy rains, the ship was finally dumped onto a reef where it began breaking apart. The crew managed to swim towards a rocky outcrop where they were rescued three days later by the crew of another passing vessel, the Swiftsure
The Mermaid
Eight hours later the schooner Governor Ready already carrying thirty-two people and a full cargo of timber saw their plight and was able to squeeze the survivors from both the Mermaid and Swiftsure on board.
Three hours later, Governor Ready caught fire! The fire spread rapidly thanks to all the added timber on board. The ship was abandoned once more with the aid of longboats.
The Comet, a government ship then appeared unexpectedly, and all were rescued....again!
The crew of the Comet heard the story and considered that the crew of The Mermaid were in fact jinxed, but having passed three shipwrecks without trouble, they decided that good luck was on their side.
But just 5 days later a sudden squall sprang up. With her mast lost, sails in tatters, and rudder gone, the crew of the Comet took to their longboats, abandoning the jinxed crewmen to their own resources.
Clinging to broken up pieces of the ship, the survivors weary and having to fight off sharks were again picked up from their soggy situation by the crew of the Jupiter,
Just 12 hours later, yes, you guessed it, the Jupiter sank!
All were eventually picked up by another ship, The City of Leeds.
Four days later, the City Of Leeds, docked in Sydney Harbour!
But there was one final coincidence to come. On board one of the final vessels, the Jupiter was an elderly lady from Yorkshire, Sarah Richey, who had come to Australia to search for her son Peter who had been missing for over fifteen years. As it turned out, Peter was one of the original crew of the Mermaid.
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