Coordinates: 51°16′25″N, 1°30′30″E The Goodwin Sands are a 10-mile long sand bank in the English Channel, lying six miles east of Deal in Kent, England. More than 2,000 ships are believed to have been wrecked upon them and as a result, they are marked by numerous lightships and buoys. Notable shipwrecks include the VOC ship Rooswijk, Stirling Castle and the South Goodwin Lightship. Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... A sandbank is a patch of sand in water, which creates a shallow area which may pose a hazard to boats. ... Satellite view of the English Channel The English Channel (French: (IPA: ), the sleeve) is the part of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. ... Deal is a town in Kent, England. ... This article is about the county in England. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... Concept image of a solar sail spacecraft in the process of unfurling sails. ... A sea lion on navigational buoy #14 in San Diego Harbor Green can #11 near the mouth of the Saugatuck river. ... The Rooswijk was a ship belonging to the VOC (Dutch East India Company) that, according to recent, non-conteporary, news reports sank in 1740. ... For other ships with the same name, see HMS Stirling Castle. ...

There is currently a lightship on the end of the sands, on the farthest part out to warn ships. The sands were once covered by two Lighthouses, one each at the north and south ends of the sands. The southern lighthouse is now owned by the National Trust, and the north one is still in operation. The Peggys Point lighthouse in Nova Scotia, Canada An aid for navigation and pilotage at sea, a lighthouse is a tower building or framework sending out light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire. ... South Foreland Lighthouse is a Victorian lighthouse on the South Foreland in St. ... The standard of the National Trust The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as The National Trust, is a British preservation organization. ... The North Foreland and South Foreland are two chalk headlands on the Kent coast of southern England. ...

An annual cricket match was until recently played on the sands at low tide. For the insect, see Cricket (insect). ... This article is about tides in the ocean. ...

Several naval battles have been fought nearby, including the Battle of Goodwin Sands in 1652 and the Battle of Dover Strait in 1917. The French battleship Orient burns, 1 August 1798, during the Battle of the Nile A naval battle is a battle fought using ships or other waterborne vessels. ... The Battle of Goodwin Sands (also known as the Battle of Dover), fought on 29 May 1652, was the first engagement of the First Anglo-Dutch War between the Commonwealth of England and the United Provinces of the Netherlands. ... The Battle of Dover Strait was a naval battle of World War I, fought in the Dover Strait on the night of 21 April 1917. ...

Legend holds that the sands were once the fertile low-lying island of Lomea. This, it is said, was once owned by Godwin, Earl of Wessex, after whom they are named. When he fell from favour, the land was given to St. Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury, whose abbot failed to maintain the sea walls, leading to the island's destruction. Godwin (sometimes Godwine) (c. ... Medieval Gate Leading to The Ruins of Saint Augustines Abbey. ... Abbots coat of arms The word abbot, meaning father, has been used as a Christian clerical title in various, mainly monastic, meanings. ... A seawall is a form of hard coastal defense that are constructed on the inland part of a coast to reduce the effects of strong waves, typically to defend the coast around a town or harbour from erosion. ...

Another theory is that their name came from Anglo-Saxon gōd wine = "good friend", a very euphemistic name given by sailors. The Anglo-Saxons refers collectively to the groups of Germanic tribes who achieved dominance in southern Britain from the mid-5th century, forming the basis for the modern English nation. ... A euphemism is a word or phrase used in place of a term that originally could not be spoken aloud (see taboo) or, by extension, terms which they consider to be disagreeable or offensive. ...

In 1974 a plan was put forward to build a third London airport on the Goodwin Sands, with a huge harbour complex, but the idea faded into obscurity.

Shipwrecks on the Sands

17th century

• John, the son of Phineas Pett of Chatham, was involved in an ordeal in the beginning of October 1624, when occurred: "a wonderful great storm, through which many ships perished, especially in the Downs, amongst which was riding there the Antelope of his Majesty, being bound for Ireland under the command of Sir Thomas Button, my son John then being a passinger in her. A merchant ship, being put from her anchors, came foul of her, and put her also from all her anchors, by means whereof she drove upon the brakes [the Sands], where she beat off her rudder and much of the run abaft, miraculously escaping utter loss of all, for that the merchant ship that came foul of her, called the Dolphin, hard by her utterly perished, both ship and all the company. Yet it pleased God to save her, and got off into the downs, having cut all her masts by the board, and with much labour was kept from foundering." (From the Autobiography of Phineas Pett.)

Phineas received news of the shipwreck at Deal, and was dispatched by the Lord Admiral to attend to the ship and use his best means to save her. He used chain pumps, replaced the rudder, and fitted jury masts, by which effort she was safely brought to Deptford Dock. Phineas Pett (November 1, 1570 - August, 1647) was a shipwright and a member of the Pett dynasty. ... The area of sea between the Goodwin Sands and the East Kent coast. ... The area of sea between the Goodwin Sands and the East Kent coast. ... A list of nautical terms; some remain current, many date from the 17th-19th century. ... Deal is a town in Kent, England. ...

• In 1690 HMS Vanguard, a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line, struck the Sands, but was fortunate enough to be got off by the boatmen of Deal.

Events Giovanni Domenico Cassini observes differential rotation within Jupiters atmosphere. ... The third HMS Vanguard, of the British Royal Navy was a 90-gun three-decker second-rate built in Portsmouth and launched in 1678. ... In the British Royal Navy, a second-rate was a ship of the line mounting 90 to 98 guns, typically built with three gun decks. ... Ships of the line were 1st, 2nd, or 3rd-rated ships in the rating system of the Royal Navy. ... Deal is a town in Kent, England. ...

Great Storm of 1703

In the the Great Storm at least 13 men of war and 40 merchant vessels were wrecked in the Downs, with the loss of 2,168 lives and 708 guns. Yet, to their great credit, the Deal boatmen were able to rescue 200 men from this ordeal. The Great Storm of 1703 is the most severe storm ever recorded in the British Isles. ... A man of war (also man-of-war, man-o-war or simply man) is an armed naval vessel. ... The area of sea between the Goodwin Sands and the East Kent coast. ...

Of the naval vessels lost to the sands:

• Northumberland Deptford built, and, from there locally manned, lost with all hands
• HMS Restoration (1678) Deptford built, and, from there locally manned, lost with all hands; also
• HMS Stirling Castle, built at Deptford in 1697, 1,097-ton, 70-gun, third-rate.
• the Woolwich fourth-rate HMS Mary was totally overwhelmed with the loss of 343 men.
• the boom ship HMS Mortar was lost with all of her 65 crew.

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Stirling Castle. ...

19th-20th century

The brig Mary White was wrecked on the Sands in a storm in 1851; seven men of her crew were rescued by the lifeboat from Broadstairs. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Brigantine. ... The connection of Broadstairs with the saving of life at sea goes back to at least 1851, such was the bravery displayed by the Lifeboat crew on this occasion that it excited a great deal of enthusiasm throughout Kent and the following ballad was composed to honour the men involved. ... 1851 (MDCCCLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Broadstairs is a town in Kent, England, 76 miles east of London, with a population of about 22,000. ...

The Radio Caroline vessel MV Ross Revenge drifted onto the Sands in November 1991, effectively ending the era of offshore pirate radio in Britain. Carolines second ship, MV Mi Amigo, c. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Trivia

William Shakespeare mentions them in The Merchant of Venice, Act 3 Scene 1: Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Title page of the first quarto (1600) The Merchant of Venice is one of William Shakespeares best-known plays, written sometime between 1596 and 1598. ...

Why, yet it lives there uncheck'd that Antonio hath

a ship of rich lading wrecked on the narrow seas;

the Goodwins, I think they call the place; a very

dangerous flat and fatal, where the carcasses of many

a tall ship lie buried, as they say, if my gossip

Report be an honest woman of her word.

Herman Melville mentions them in Moby-Dick, Chapter VII, The Chapel: Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, essayist and poet. ... Moby-Dick book cover Moby-Dick - the official title of the first edition - is a novel by Herman Melville. ...

In what census of living creatures, the dead of mankind are included; why it is that a universal proverb says of them, that they tell no tales, though containing more secrets than the Goodwin Sands...

Further reading

• Richard Larn and Bridget Larn - Shipwrecks of the Goodwin Sands (Meresborough Books, 1995) ISBN 0-948193-84-0

External links