The wreck of the SV Chile

While paddling round Burrow Head, Tony and I came across the wreck of the iron sailing vessel Chile. She lies at the low water mark at the foot of a defile through the cliffs, which are to the north west of Port Castle Bay.



Her riveted iron plates and winches litter the shore. She was a German vessel, built for the nitrate trade with Chile and was impounded in Liverpool at the outbreak of WW1. Captain Weaver was taking her to Glasgow when she was driven on to the shore by a storm and the powerful tides round Burrow Head. Her great masts towered above the cliffs but the sea was pounding her to pieces. The Captain managed to get the crew safely ashore in the boats then led them to safety up a steep path through the cliffs, known as the Ladies' Steps. They were so grateful that they presented him with a picture of the ship which can still be seen in the Wigtown Bay Sailing Club clubhouse.



The resting place of SV Chile.