Johns Rock
Encyclopedia
Disambiguation: Not to be confused with Johns Knoll
in the Antarctic
On 24 November 1812 was in the Kattegat leading Russian ships through the south-west passage of Anholt
towards Gothenburg
when she went aground on a sunken rock called "John" (or "Fannot") off Læsø
. She sank and broke in two. Her crew took to the rigging but during the night many died of exposure or fell into the sea when they lost their grip. Only six of her entire crew of 120 or so men and boys escaped death from exposure or drowning.
The name of this rock was last recorded in Danish pilotage charts in about 1846 as Johns Knold; There has been no further reference to this feature in Danish charts since then.
Great Britain's Hydrographic Department described the rock in 1895 as "...John's knoll, a dry shoal...". In 1920 the US Hydrographic Office merely refers to the reef as the "Northwest Reef". It also reported that there was a light, "The Northwest Reef Light" on the reef, a quarter of a mile from the outer end of the reef.
(628 meters) out lies a piece of dry ground, called Johns Knold, around which the reef is about 1000 Alen wide with only two feet (0.63 meters) of water. From here the reef continues for another 2000 Alen (1.25 Km.) and at its furthest end runs out as a narrow ridge with less than one fathom of water. For most of this stretch it is only 200 Alen wide and the surrounding sandy bottom along the same stretch covers about 3½ - 2 Qmiil ( 6.5 - 3.7 kilometers).
Just before the reef’s outermost end, the depth increases suddenly from four to 22 fathoms. However, this is not a navigable channel but rather an uneven bottom. On the southern side the reef falls away quickly from two and three to six or seven fathoms depth.
A contemporary seamen’s guide describes the safest route for even large ships-of-war from the northern point of Jutland (The Skaw or Skagen) to Winga Island (modern name Vinga) off Gothenburg, well to the north of Læsø in deep water. If, however, with northerly winds the route chosen is to the west of Læsø “they must always get pilots”. A later description of Læsø tells of reefs, sandy spits, rocks, banks, knolls and sea marks, with the passage between the reefs and those of the Dwale Ground on the Jutland side as being 4 miles wide with 8 to 14 fathoms of water.
, have been trying to locate Belette using sidescan sonar and a magnetometer.
Johns Knoll
Johns Knoll is a crevassed ice knoll in the lower part of Vinje Glacier in Queen Maud Land. Mapped from surveys and air photos by Norwegian Antarctic Expedition and named Johnsbaen for John Snuggerud, radio technician with Norwegian Antarctic Expedition ....
in the Antarctic
On 24 November 1812 was in the Kattegat leading Russian ships through the south-west passage of Anholt
Anholt (Denmark)
Anholt is a Danish island in the Kattegat, midway between Jutland and Sweden, with 171 permanent residents as of 1 January 2010. It is seven miles long and about four miles wide at its widest and covers an area of 21,75 km². Anholt is part of Norddjurs municipality in Region Midtjylland...
towards Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
when she went aground on a sunken rock called "John" (or "Fannot") off Læsø
Læsø
Læsø is the largest island in the North Sea bay of Kattegat, and is located off the northeast coast of the Jutland Peninsula, the Danish mainland. Læsø is also the name of the municipality on that island...
. She sank and broke in two. Her crew took to the rigging but during the night many died of exposure or fell into the sea when they lost their grip. Only six of her entire crew of 120 or so men and boys escaped death from exposure or drowning.
The name of this rock was last recorded in Danish pilotage charts in about 1846 as Johns Knold; There has been no further reference to this feature in Danish charts since then.
Great Britain's Hydrographic Department described the rock in 1895 as "...John's knoll, a dry shoal...". In 1920 the US Hydrographic Office merely refers to the reef as the "Northwest Reef". It also reported that there was a light, "The Northwest Reef Light" on the reef, a quarter of a mile from the outer end of the reef.
Description
One of the most dangerous of the shoal grounds surrounding Læsø is the North West Reef. This reef stretches itself out northwestward on the bearing of NW by ½N, or on the line of Byrum and VesterØes Churches, stretching up to 5 Qmiil (9.25 kilometers) from this latter church, where the edge of four fathoms is to be found. From the land, approximately 1000 AlenAlen
Alen or aln is a traditional Scandinavian unit of distance similar to the north German elle: roughly 60 centimeters. The Danish alen, also used in Norway, was equal to 62.77 centimeters . The Swedish aln was 59.38 centimeters....
(628 meters) out lies a piece of dry ground, called Johns Knold, around which the reef is about 1000 Alen wide with only two feet (0.63 meters) of water. From here the reef continues for another 2000 Alen (1.25 Km.) and at its furthest end runs out as a narrow ridge with less than one fathom of water. For most of this stretch it is only 200 Alen wide and the surrounding sandy bottom along the same stretch covers about 3½ - 2 Qmiil ( 6.5 - 3.7 kilometers).
Just before the reef’s outermost end, the depth increases suddenly from four to 22 fathoms. However, this is not a navigable channel but rather an uneven bottom. On the southern side the reef falls away quickly from two and three to six or seven fathoms depth.
A contemporary seamen’s guide describes the safest route for even large ships-of-war from the northern point of Jutland (The Skaw or Skagen) to Winga Island (modern name Vinga) off Gothenburg, well to the north of Læsø in deep water. If, however, with northerly winds the route chosen is to the west of Læsø “they must always get pilots”. A later description of Læsø tells of reefs, sandy spits, rocks, banks, knolls and sea marks, with the passage between the reefs and those of the Dwale Ground on the Jutland side as being 4 miles wide with 8 to 14 fathoms of water.
Searching for HMS Belette
Since 2010, a team of five Danish marine archeologists based primarily at Bangsbo Museum, FrederikshavnFrederikshavn
This article is about a Danish town. For the German town, see Friedrichshafen, and for the Finnish town, see Fredrikshamn .Frederikshavn is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland on the northeast coast of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. Its name translates to...
, have been trying to locate Belette using sidescan sonar and a magnetometer.