A tourist in search of photographs near Mossel Bay has stumbled upon a 250-year-old cannon in the surf.
The cannon, which has been rescued by heritage officials, first appeared in April near Fransmanshoek, south of Mossel Bay, during an exceptionally low tide. But it took more than four months to reach it again this week.
Fransmanshoek is a nature conservancy featuring shell middens and ancient fishtraps dating to pre-colonial times. The cannon has been identified as one of 56 guns aboard the French warship La Fortune, which ran aground nearby in 1763 with 400 people on board. Three of the ship's other cannons have been recovered, the last one in 1960, and are on display in the coastal village of Kanon.
Ironically, the 1960s cannon was discovered by a local farmer whose grandson helped to recover the latest cannon this week.
"The cannon was partially exposed for only a few hours in April, and then again earlier this month," said conservancy member Fred Orban.
"It was just a beachcomber with a camera, he thought he saw something quite strange," Orban said. "He sat talking about it one night to a local farmer who realised immediately what the significance was.
"Then last week ... somebody saw it again. We thought, right, now we have to act." A salvage team battled to get the cannon ashore due to currents, waves and rocks. "We had about an hour-and-a-half, otherwise it would have disappeared again, probably for years," Orban said. Apart from a layer of barnacles, it was in good condition.
La Fortune was returning to France from the East when she anchored near Fransmanshoek to take on fresh water.
A strong easterly gale drove her onto the rocks. Some survivors settled in the Cape and contributed to the province's Francophone heritage.
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