Kate

History

The Kate was an iron steam freighter built at Whitby in 1874, carrying sail as a barquentine as well as steam. In late 1878 she was carrying about 3,600 bales of Texas cotton from Galveston to Le Havre when, on 30 November, she struck an uncharted reef off Bermuda, reportedly about 22 miles from Gibbs Hill Lighthouse.

Badly holed, she was taken in tow by the tug Ackerman, and to stop her sinking she was deliberately run aground off the South Shore so that her cargo could be saved. Almost all of the cotton was recovered and no lives were lost. Ten days later, on 10 December, a gale broke the stranded ship apart and drove her remains into deeper water. Her master, Captain James Simpson, was found at fault and lost his certificate.

Diving the wreck today

An easy, shallow wreck about a kilometre off Natural Arches beach, suitable for Open Water divers, with her propeller sitting on its own on the reef at about 20 ft for snorkellers. The main wreck lies in about 45 ft: the boilers, engine, propeller shaft and deck winches are all visible, and the boilers have become small reefs with swim-throughs and overhangs. An anchor stands upright on the reef just south of the main wreckage.