- #The strange story of the inhabitants of schiltburg 1962 full
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In one brief moment it swept all the passengers inside to their deaths. The biggest wave yet ripped the roof clean from the deckhouse. This was an ill fated attempt to keep them safe. Fierce waves were constantly crashing over the deck so the crew helped the women and children aboard to the relative shelter of the deckhouse. The captain attempted to restore order with his pistol, and eventually did so. Two made it away with twenty six men, and one woman on board. Three boats managed to be launched, one sank immediately due to never having been effectively maintained. But before any could be launched the stormy seas swept one of the funnels of the ship clean off, causing it to crash directly on to the assembled lifeboats killing many passengers. There was pandemonium on board as passengers fought to get into the remaining lifeboats. More importantly it destroyed all of the lifeboats on one side of the ship. It also caused the majority of the lanterns to be extinguished. This fatally injured the vessel causing her to list dangerously.
#The strange story of the inhabitants of schiltburg 1962 series
As she came free of the reef a series of freak waves dashed her side on against the rocks. However the seas were rapidly growing rougher.
#The strange story of the inhabitants of schiltburg 1962 full
The Captain reacted instantly and reversed the engines at full power to refloat the ship. The ship sustained a large amount of damage, but not enough to sink her. Rather than being in open water as the Captain and crew believed, the SS Schiller was steaming directly into the Western Rocks.Īt approximately 10pm on the 7 th May 1875, with visibility almost non-existant, and seas running high, the SS Schiller ran aground on the rocks of the Retarrier Ledge. In fact the lighthouse was some distance to port. However due to the earlier inadvertent change in course the majority of people were looking on the starboard side where the lighthouse should have been. The Last Night of the SS SchillerĪs night began to fall the crew asked for volunteers to come on deck to help try to spot the Bishop’s Rock lighthouse through the fog. He knew he must be approaching Scilly, and was understandably cautious. On the evening of the 7 th the Captain George Thomas ordered the sails taken in and the engine cut to half speed. But the seas had become much more turbulent, with large waves rocking the ship making it even harder to navigate effectively. By the 7 th of May the fog had become so thick it was said you could not see one mast from the other.
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Unbeknownst to anyone on board she had begun to go off course. The ship was heading for Hamburg, with scheduled stops in Plymouth, and Cherbourg along the way.Īfter several day’s sailing in pleasant conditions the weather began to change.īy May 4 th fog had become a major issue. She also carried a large cargo of sewing machines, mailbags destined for Australia, and gold coins worth somewhere in the region of £6,000,000 in today’s money. She carried a full complement of crew, and every passenger berth was full. On the 27 th April 1875 the SS Schiller set sail from Hoboken, New Jersey in fine weather. She carried 254 passengers, and was crewed by 118 men.
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Owned by the German Transatlantic Steam Navigation Line, she successfully sailed across the atlantic for two years. She was 380 feet long, with a 40 foot beam, and she was powered by a combination of steam and sail, with two masts, fore and aft and two funnels in the centre. She was launched in 1873, and carried passengers back and forth between Hamburg and New York. Weighing in at 3421 tonnes she plied her trade as a long distance ocean liner. The Schiller was one of the largest vessels of her time. However the story of the SS Schiller is one that still resonates even today, some 150 years later. The ocean floor around Scilly is littered with the decaying remains of ships, in places three wrecks deep. The Isles of Scilly are famous all around the world for the number of shipwrecks that have occurred in the waters around the islands. One of the most famous and tragic of shipwrecks to ever befall the islands was that of the SS Schiller.