Steve Pellatt
Wrecked
Wreck of the SS Nornen, Berrow, Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset
This old wreck has been on my mind to shoot for about 2 years but as it's a bit of a drive and you need the weather, tides and sunset to align plus have the time in the schedule to shoot it I haven't before now. On the August Bank Holiday weekend I was free and had reason to be heading that way so I decided to make an afternoon/evening out of it and try to get something.
The SS Nornen was a Norwegian Barque sailing ship. It had 3 masts and was built in France in 1876.
On 1 Feb 1897 it set sail from Bristol bound for Brunswick in Georgia, USA. Having loaded a cargo of resin and turpentine, the Nornen set sail back to Bristol. During the night of 2/3 March, a major storm battered the coasts of south west England. Captain Olsen made an attempt to shelter in the lee of Lundy Island, but this was in vain. With sails torn, the crew were powerless against the rough swells and driving sleet. The Nornen drifted north-westward, eventually running aground on Berrow Beach, Berrow, Somerset.
The captain risked his life by jumping overboard, into the muddy, icy cold waters of the Severn Estuary. None of the other crewmen nor the ship's dog followed. At 11:30 on 3 March, the RNLI lifeboat "Godfrey Morris"[ reached the stricken vessel, which was standing upright on Gore Sands. All crew* and the ship's dog were rescued and taken to safety.
Salvage began almost immediately, with the insurers logging her as 'sold as a wreck' on 2 April 1897. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nornen
I did find shooting this wreck a challenge as I wanted to go low to the sand but if I did that it was impossible to isolate the two rows of timbers from each other. I was there for a few hours with one other Tog appearing during Golden Hour and several beach walkers visited as well. Luckily although there were a number of heavy rain showers skirting the site (you can see one to the left of the frame) I stayed dry the whole time. This shot is is a series of 5 bracketed images taken shortly before the sun was lost behind that bank of clouds. I'd hoped the shadows you can see would appear as I thought they could be used in the shot.
It's pretty flat there and I know the Bristol channel has a massive tidal range so you need to be careful there but I've seen some shots with more of the sand missing and water sitting between the timbers which can make for a cracking image. A place I hope to return to.
© All rights reserved Steve Pellatt. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
Wrecked
Wreck of the SS Nornen, Berrow, Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset
This old wreck has been on my mind to shoot for about 2 years but as it's a bit of a drive and you need the weather, tides and sunset to align plus have the time in the schedule to shoot it I haven't before now. On the August Bank Holiday weekend I was free and had reason to be heading that way so I decided to make an afternoon/evening out of it and try to get something.
The SS Nornen was a Norwegian Barque sailing ship. It had 3 masts and was built in France in 1876.
On 1 Feb 1897 it set sail from Bristol bound for Brunswick in Georgia, USA. Having loaded a cargo of resin and turpentine, the Nornen set sail back to Bristol. During the night of 2/3 March, a major storm battered the coasts of south west England. Captain Olsen made an attempt to shelter in the lee of Lundy Island, but this was in vain. With sails torn, the crew were powerless against the rough swells and driving sleet. The Nornen drifted north-westward, eventually running aground on Berrow Beach, Berrow, Somerset.
The captain risked his life by jumping overboard, into the muddy, icy cold waters of the Severn Estuary. None of the other crewmen nor the ship's dog followed. At 11:30 on 3 March, the RNLI lifeboat "Godfrey Morris"[ reached the stricken vessel, which was standing upright on Gore Sands. All crew* and the ship's dog were rescued and taken to safety.
Salvage began almost immediately, with the insurers logging her as 'sold as a wreck' on 2 April 1897. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nornen
I did find shooting this wreck a challenge as I wanted to go low to the sand but if I did that it was impossible to isolate the two rows of timbers from each other. I was there for a few hours with one other Tog appearing during Golden Hour and several beach walkers visited as well. Luckily although there were a number of heavy rain showers skirting the site (you can see one to the left of the frame) I stayed dry the whole time. This shot is is a series of 5 bracketed images taken shortly before the sun was lost behind that bank of clouds. I'd hoped the shadows you can see would appear as I thought they could be used in the shot.
It's pretty flat there and I know the Bristol channel has a massive tidal range so you need to be careful there but I've seen some shots with more of the sand missing and water sitting between the timbers which can make for a cracking image. A place I hope to return to.
© All rights reserved Steve Pellatt. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.