The dessert coastline of South West Africa, lashed by the gale borne seas of the South Atlantic, often shielded in fog, with treacherous rocks, islets and currents, represents the classic nightmare of any seafaring man.
Many men and ships have perished here, and much has been written on the tragic and spectacular shipwrecks, which have been recorded. Many are not recorded; all that are remains are relics of Portuguese galleys, Dutch East Indiamen and other vessels that sailed the coastline in the last 500 years.
To this day shipping casualties are frequent. The dreaded northern part of the Namibia coast has earned its name of Skeleton Coast.
One of these vessels is the HOPE, given as an American whaler, (or Dutch) but all my research did not find any American or Dutch whaler HOPE lost in 1804.
She went ashore on 14th May 1804 south of Walvis Bay.
All crew reached the shore and decided to walk south to Cape Town, but six days later a Hottentot band attacked them and all but two sailors were murdered.
The next day the two seriously wounded men were spotted and picked up by an English whaler.
South West Africa 1987 16c sg483