| In the centre of the bay are two orange
buoys that mark the remains of the Prince Ivanhoe. The
Prince Ivanhoe was built in 1951 for service between Portsmouth
and Ryde on the Isle of Wight, and was initially named Shanklin.
She was purchased at the end of 1980 by a group
associated with the paddle steamer Waverley, and was used as a pleasure
cruiser. Tragedy struck on the 3rd August 1981 when she hit an uncharted
object off Port Eynon beach, ripping a 60 foot gash in her hull.
The captain, David Neill took charge from the Bristol channel pilot
at the helm, and ran her ashore to give the passengers more chance
of survival as the ship was sinking fast.
With the vessels diesel engines immersed in water,
it took great skill on the part of engineer Ken Angell to restart
the engines, and she was driven headlong toward the beach, stopping
for the last time where the remains are today.
These actions saved the lives of all on board,
though one passenger sadly died of a heart attack brought on through
the trauma later.
On 5th August the Insurance underwriters declared
Prince Ivanhoe a Constructive Total Loss, and 30 years of popular
service were over. The picture below shows Prince Ivanhoe 6 weeks
after the sinking, showing clearly how close to the shore she was.
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