While the visible Gwineas has been the site of several
shipwrecks, the Yaw, a submerged rock to the east, has been the cause of more wrecks. Although the bell buoy is called 'Gwineas', it is there to mark the Yaw. As an eastern
cardinal buoy, it flashes in groups of three, indicating that it is located to the east of the hazard. It is kept in place with four large anchors attached to chains, the flashing light is solar-powered, and it is serviced at least once a year.
SS Ardangorm On Thursday 4 January 1940, the
SS Ardangorm, a 5,000-ton vessel, struck the Gwineas in an ESE gale at night when en route from
Cardiff to
Fowey in
ballast. The
Fowey lifeboat launched at 3.45am thirty five minutes after distress flares were seen. At daylight 11 crew were rescued by the lifeboat. This left 25 crew aboard. The lifeboat landed the 11 and requested assistance from
tugs. In the afternoon, after an
Admiralty tug had arrived, it was decided the ship could not be saved. The lifeboat took off the remaining crew and returned to Fowey at 4.18pm. The ship's back broke on 10 January and wood and other material washed ashore to be salvaged by villagers.
Pallas On the 7th April 1895 the mainly steel-built Russian
barque 'Pallas' was wrecked on Great Perhaver Beach after grounding on The Gwineas in an easterly
gale. The vessel's
cargo was
timber, and all the
crew were rescued. A large amount of
steel wreckage once survived in the shallows. == References ==