Samtampa Memorial Virtual Run 2022

We invite you to join us to celebrate the 75 year anniversary of the Samtampa Disaster by Running/Walking /Jogging in our Virtual Samtampa Memorial Run during April 2022.

On 23 April 1947 the Samtampa was on a voyage from Middlesbrough to Newport but in harsh weather it developed an engine fault. The Captain, H. Neal Sherwell, decided to anchor in Swansea Bay and attempt to carry out repairs. At around 4.40pm, however, the starboard anchor chain broke and in gale force winds the Samtampa was whisked eastwards across Swansea Bay. By 5.00pm the ship had been driven ashore on the rocks near Sker Point.
The Mumbles lifeboat, Edward, Prince of Wales, was launched just after 6.00pm and Porthcawl Coastguards attempted to get a line to the wreck from the shore. It is not entirely clear what happened during the rescue attempt but the lifeboat, which was under the command of Coxswain William Gammon, was found the following morning battered and capsized further along the oil-strewn beach.
The gale during the afternoon and evening of 23 April 1947 was so fierce that the Samtampa soon started to break up, intially splitting into two and then into three parts as huge waves smashed into the ship and threw her about. The ship became a total wreck within two hours.
The tragedy, one of the worst Welsh Maritime Disasters ever recorded, saw the loss of all 39 crew members of the Samtampa, and 8 crew members from the RNLI Lifeboat.

You can Run/Walk/Jog 5k virtually,  anywhere in your area, during the entire month of April and receive your bespoke Samtampa 75th Anniversary medal.

All proceeds from the run go directly the the RNLI Mumbles lifeboat station.​​​​​​

If you'd prefer to join us in Mumbles for the 5km Memorial Run event on Saturday 23rd April please see the link on the right hand side of this page.