# The Helvitia, Gower...



## Digital Wizzard




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## cal_gundert05

What the...?   That's awesome!  Where was this taken?  It (whatever it is) looks like what the Nazgul ride in the Lord of the Rings.

Cool pic.


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## cherrymoose

^^I was also just viewing this and thought the same thing. Hm, maybe it's a skeleton of one. Haha.
Very cool pic. I'd love to know where this is.


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## LaFoto

It is a ship wreck, must be, of a ship that once was called "Helvetia".
And I ought to know where Gower is, but hmmm :scratch: ... I no longer do. 

I like it --- could NeatImage help reduce the noise in the clouds?


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## lostprophet

Great shot, I was gonna go there last week but went to deepest Dorset instead


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## Antarctican

Ohhh, good one DigitalWizzard! Everything combines to make it a killer shot: the cool subject matter, the composition, the clouds, and the patterns in the sand and the wood.  Good eye.

How old is the wreck? I'm surprised these bits continue to survive.


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## Digital Wizzard

This picture is taken on Llangenith Beach, which is on the western most point of the Gower Peninsular, Swansea, South Wales in the United Kingdom.  Here is some further information regarding the wreck...The gales around the Gower coast on the morning of 1st November 1887 caused two ships, heavily laden with timber, to be stranded off Mumbles' Head. Unable to navigate the stormy seas to dock at Swansea Harbour, the struggling ships found themselves being blown down the Bristol Channel by the increasingly strong south-easterly winds. One ship luckily managed to reach the shelter of Lundy Island, but the oak-constructed barque of the Helvetia, struck the dangerous sandbank of Helwick Sands. With the next turbulent swell, the ship gained freedom from the shallow waters but was swept precariously around Worm's Head into the shallow waters of Rhossili Bay.The captain of the Helvetia dropped anchor here and was taken ashore by the coastguard. However, he refused to abandon his ship altogether, leaving the crew aboard the barque, afraid that given the chance, someone might steal her. Unfortunately, the wind refused to die down and when it changed direction suddenly, it forced the ship to drag her anchor. With nightfall rapidly approaching, the decision was finally made for the crew to abandon ship. The tortured wreck of the Helvetia was discovered the next morning, laid to rest upon the sands and surrounded by her cargo of 500 tons of wood.


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## LaFoto

Sad ending of a dramatic story!
Now you have a wonderful motif on that beach.
And sure enough I had heard about the Gower peninsula before, and right here on TPF ... we had another member who posted photos from there, but that was a year or two ago, and I don't remember who it was. But I might find it by putting "Gower" into "SEARCH"!


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## Antarctican

I continue to be amazed that exposed wooden timbers would still be around after 120+ years of exposure to the elements, blowing sand (and waves?)  Excellent pic


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