Joanna (also spelled Johanna) Shipwreck

About Joanna (also spelled Johanna) Shipwreck

The Johanna (also spelled Joanna) was a British East Indiaman that became the first British ship to be wrecked on the South African coast. In the early hours of 8 June 1682, amid thick storm weather and poor visibility, the vessel ran aground on the treacherous outer reefs of "Die Dam" just east of Quoin Point in the Western Cape. While between 9 and 24 individuals drowned, approximately 104 survivors made it to shore and were guided to the Cape Town Castle by local Khoe inhabitants. The ship went down carrying a highly valuable cargo of silver bullion and coins, remaining undisturbed beneath the coastal sands for exactly three centuries.

The wreck was finally relocated in 1982 by local divers, who utilized a custom prop-wash machine to excavate the site. This operation successfully recovered over 23,000 silver cob coins ("pieces of eight"), hundreds of kilograms of silver ingots, and recorded 44 iron cannons on the seabed. Today, the location is part of the protected Quoin Point Nature Reserve, where a 32-metre automated lighthouse warns modern vessels away from the dangerous reefs that historically claimed the Johanna.