Blessing of Burntisland 1633
Marker: recorded wreck position (Age of Sail).
Key facts
| Name | Blessing of Burntisland | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Year lost | 1633 | Wikidata P793 significant event, point-in-time qualifier |
| Era | Age of Sail | derived from year |
| Ship type | ship, shipwreck | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Sea / ocean | North Sea | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | Scotland | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 1 km from land |
| Position | 56.0401, -3.2492 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
The Blessing of Burntisland was a wooden ferry that carried people and goods 5 miles (8 km) across the Firth of Forth, Scotland, between Burntisland and Leith in the early 17th century. It sank in 1633 carrying a large amount of royal treasure. The shipwreck has never been found.
Diving & visiting
Marine archaeologists have long searched for the wreck, but it has never been found, not least because 500 other shipwrecks lie at the bottom of the Firth of Forth.
An eight-year search by the Burntisland Heritage Trust and the Royal Navy began in 1991. The Trust intended to open a museum in Burntisland exhibiting any artefacts that could be salvaged from the Blessing. After finding 200 possible wreck sites within a two-mile area of the estuary, one wreck was closely inspected in 1993, and divers found pottery, shoe leather and bolts dating from the 1600s. The search ended in 1999 with HMS Roebuck discovering a wreck 1 mile (1.6 km) off the coast of Burntisland.
Location
- Recorded position: 56.0401, -3.2492 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: North Sea
- Nearest coast: Scotland
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Blessing of Burntisland (revision 1370771045), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Attempts to find the wreck”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
- HMS Campania 2 km
- SS Orsova 19 km
- USS Stockton 30 km
- SMS München 1921 · 31 km
- HMS Whiting 43 km
- HMS Success 48 km
Browse more: UK & Ireland wrecks · wrecks off Scotland · North Sea · Age of Sail