East indiaman · lost 1653 · Shetland, United Kingdom
Lastdrager
Almost everything known of the Lastdrager's last voyage rests on one man: Johannes Camphuijs, a nineteen-year-old crewman and the sole survivor, whose statement records how she was lost. The East Indiaman had left Texel to take the northern passage round Scotland.
A gale near Fair Isle shredded her sails, and for three weeks she was carried helpless north and west of Shetland before striking rocks at Crooks Ayre on Yell. She split apart; the stern drifted off, and the bow, where the crew sheltered, was lifted by the tide and wrecked against the shore.
Robert Stenuit's team found her cannon in 1971 and raised thousands of finds, mostly small fragments but including coins and navigational instruments, and noted pools of mercury in the rock crevices. Her stern, which drifted away when she broke, was not among the finds.
- Type
- East indiaman
- Lost
- March 2nd, 1653
- Location
- Shetland, United KingdomNorth Sea
History and LossLost March 2nd, 1653 · Shetland, United Kingdom.
She left Texel on 6 February 1653 with 205 men aboard, accompanied by the yacht Avenhoorn, after an earlier attempt in 1652 ended in a grounding and repairs. Driven north towards the Faroe Islands and increasingly waterlogged, she sighted high cliffs half a mile off on 2 March and could not be steered clear. Camphuijs, washed ashore, climbed the steep shoreline to reach a nearby blacksmith.
Lost March 2nd, 1653.
Condition of the Wreck
Intactness
In 1971 the wreckage lay at Crussa Ness, with five iron guns observed but not removed. Her stern section has never been located, and there are no recent reports of the site.
Notable Features
- Bow section
- Stern section
Sea-Surface Temperature by Month
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surface temp | 8.5° | 7.8° | 7.5° | 7.8° | 8.9° | 10.6° | 12.4° | 12.9° | 12.3° | 11.3° | 10.4° | 9.3° |
Additional Details7 further fields held for this wreck and not shown above.
- Loss date
- March 2nd, 1653
- Latitude
- 60.7025° N
- Longitude
- 0.9885° W
- Water body
- North Sea
- War grave
- Not recorded
- Protected
- No
- Permit required
- No
Sources and VerificationEvery fact on this page traces to a published source.
- Historic Environment Scotland (Canmore, NRHE)inspire.hes.scot · Official record4 facts
- NOAA / NASA JPL MUR SST v4.1coastwatch.pfeg.noaa.gov · Institution or archive1 fact
- Scottish Shipwrecksscottishshipwrecks.com · Secondary source4 facts
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Historic Environment Scotland.
- JPL MUR MEaSUREs Project. GHRSST Level 4 MUR Global Foundation Sea Surface Temperature Analysis (v4.1). PO.DAAC. https://doi.org/10.5067/GHGMR-4FJ04
A further 5 fields were derived from the wreck’s recorded position rather than taken from a source.
Licences and credits for the open data used on this site are on the Attribution page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Lastdrager?
Lastdrager is the wreck of an east indiaman, off Shetland, United Kingdom. Lastdrager was lost in 1653.
How did the Lastdrager sink?
The cause of the loss of Lastdrager is not recorded in the sources held; the loss is dated March 2nd, 1653.