According to http://cityofadelaide.org/wiki/Voyage_to_Adelaide_in_1874 , “At 3am on the 24th August 1874 the City of Adelaide anchored off Kirkcaldy Beach. Later in the morning she became stranded during a storm and dragged on her anchor. Some cargo was taken off, and she was re-floated and moved around to Port Adelaide where the passengers disembarked safely.”
It is generally accepted that the City of Adelaide lost its port (bower?) anchor during that incident. It is not known what became of that anchor at all, whether it was ever recovered.
This page from “City of Adelaide, Historic Clipper Ship -Mini Profile Series Number Ten” by Steve McNichol shows an illustration of the ship both aground and stranded on the beach: -
The 'missing' anchor ought to have been lost in shallow water close to the metropolitan shore. It seems remarkably strange that it has apparently never been found. Perhaps it was never actually lost.
In my article titled “The Dunnikier Slip (& Its Links With The City Of Adelaide)” published in the MLSSA Newsletter for April 2008, I had written, “In August 1874 the City of Adelaide came fast ashore close to Kirkcaldy* Beach, just south of Grange (between Henley Beach and Semaphore), during a storm and she had lost her port anchor. She was ultimately re-floated and towed to Port Adelaide on 4th September 1874 to be inspected for damage at Fletcher’s Slip. ….. It is thought, at the time of writing, that some attempts have recently been made to recover the port anchor lost from the City of Adelaide somewhere off of Semaphore.”
Bing AI tells me, “The Port Bower anchor was a type of anchor used historically on large sailing ships, including clipper ships like the City of Adelaide. Bower anchors were typically large, heavy anchors designed to provide strong holding power in various seabed conditions.
“In terms of size, bower anchors could vary, but for a ship like the City of Adelaide, it would likely have been a large, heavy anchor, possibly weighing several hundred pounds (around 100-200 kg or more). These anchors were often made of iron and had a stock (a crossbar) to help them set properly on the seabed.
“It's fascinating to think about the engineering and design that went into these anchors to ensure the safety and stability of such large vessels.”
I haven't been able to find a decent photo or picture of a bower anchor on either the City of Adelaide or when the ship was named HMS Carrick. This image is the best that I could come up with: -
The same photo features in “City of Adelaide, Historic Clipper Ship -Mini Profile Series Number Ten” by Steve McNichol. I have cropped the bower anchor from the photo for this blurry image: -
The City of Adelaide is said to be of some 791 tons. It may have needed anchors similar to this one found by the Sea Wolves Dive Club a few years ago: -
(Photo courtesy of the Sea Wolves Dive Club)
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