Quality of fix: Precisely known. Surveyed using horizontal sextant angle and swept by wire drag (1)
Charted as HOPPER NUMBER 19, 'notable debris', in the Marine zone. (1)
Lies in position 51°27.32N, 000°57.28E at a depth of 3.7m in a general depth of 4m. (1)
Orientation: 0°. (1)
15-SEP-1952: Dries 11ft above mean low water springs 229 degrees 1.9 miles from Red Sand Tower southern light.
22-MAR-1960: Dispersal operations completed. (1)
'Wreck dries 11 feet above low water springs, 1.9 miles from the Red Sand Tower south light, 229°.' (2)
Charted without qualification as Hopper Number 19 and seen to be located approximately 1.25 miles SE of the East
Cant light beacon and approximately 1.8 miles SW of the westernmost tower of the Red Sand group. (3)
Given that the wreck was recorded in her present position one month after the event, it is unclear from (2) below how
she came to strike the Red Sand Tower foundations and what subsequently happened. It is likely that this information
in source (2) comes from the sources listed at the end of this text (under 'Additional sources cited in Shipwreck Index
of the British Isles',) and which as at 2011 have not been seen by English Heritage.
It is possible that the vessel may have struck the foundations or the towers on the Red Sand (a collision) and, damaged,
subsequently stranded in her present position; alternatively, the vessel might have been towed off and beached or
abandoned if the tow had broken. It is also possible that the event was simply recorded in original sources in its position
relative to the Red Sands Towers. (4)
Wreck Event and Documentary Evidence:
'Stranded and lost on the foundation of the Red Sand forts. Dispersal operations were completed by the Trinity House
vessel PATRICIA in February 1960.' (2)
Built: 1900 (2)
Builder: CH Walker and Company Limited (2)
Where built: Sudbrook (2)
LBD: 49.98 x 8.26 x 3.26m (2)
Tonnage: 436 (2)
Object material: Steel (2)
Propulsion: Source 2 states that she had a screw-driven 3-cylinder triple expansion steam engine but as she was a
hopper barge (1), which do not have their own means of propulsion, this must be an error.
Owner: R G Odell Limited. (2)
No further information about the vessel can be found.