Maritime record MWX5023 - Caroline of Leigh

A sailing yacht lost at Lulworth Cove in 1979. Owned by Patrick Godfrey. <1>

Additional sources cited in Shipwreck Index of the British Isles: Diver Magazine 01.1981 Vol 26 No1. <2>

She must have foundered on the day she left Weymouth, to have been found so close by. <4>

The building date for this vessel is an estimate based on an average age at wrecking of twenty years. This average is derived from those vessels wrecked on the Dorset coast whose age at wrecking is known.

<1> Le Pard, G, 1995-2003, Dorset Coast Forum Maritime Archaeological Database, 156 (Digital archive). SWX8707.

<2> Larn, R, and Larn, B, 1995, Shipwreck index of the British Isles, volume 1 : Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset Section 6, Dorset (AJ) Vol 1 (Monograph). SWX4541.

'A brand new yacht on her maiden voyage, called in at Weymouth on 14.12.1979 and departed shortly after. Wreckage from the yacht was found in the net of a trawler off Lulworth 07.02.1980. On board had been the... skipper [a female, and the male] owner. The wreck of the yacht was found on 01.07.1980 by four amateur divers at a depth of 110 feet, lying on a flat sandy sea bottom and broken in two pieces but still held together by the stainless steel rigging of the deck rails. A Weymouth fisherman trawled up her engine and gearbox complete on 11.07.1980'. Length 7.92m.

<4> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1521419 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

‘A new Scottish yacht which foundered somewhere off Weymouth, and was found in a trawler net just off Lulworth Cove some months later. She'd been en-route from Southampton to Greece via Weymouth. She was a sailing vessel.’

<5> Cumming, E, The Dorset shipwreck and maritime incident directory, 19 (Monograph). SDO16406.

… On board had been the 30 year old skipper, Lothar Griep (37), Ursula Buth (27) and the 45 year old English owner. … Diver 1/1981 Vol. 26 No.1. Local research would suggest that there was a report of a red flare but the Weymouth Lifeboat was not launched. Two bodies were found soon after the incident and the third much later. Experienced locals are convinced the yacht was hit by a submarine. Obviously there is absolutely no proof whatsoever, but it is more than likely that it sank very quickly.

Record last edited

Sep 6 2024 4:39PM