Warren (1930/11/18)

3 miles S Ledge Point, 12 miles N of Moore River on reef 4 or 5 chains from shore

The fishing lugger Warren was owned by Antonio Schank who sailed it with a crew of two men–Karl Rosenburg and Robert Faarenheimo. The vessel was valued at £400 and was not insured. The men were attempting to reach the shelter of Ledge Point, as bad weather was approaching.
THE LOSS
The Warren had to sail south around some dangerous reefs and then turned to head north between the reefs and the shore in order to reach the anchorage at Ledge Point. There was a very heavy sea running at the time. The vessel successfully rounded the southern end of the reef when Rosenburg, who was on look-out, saw that they were too close for safety. Schank, at the tiller, gave the order to let go the mainsail but this order was not carried out, and he could not leave the tiller to hand the sail himself. The lugger struck the reef and was holed on the port side of the bow, the rudder broken and the keel sprung. This left a 50 mm wide crack from forward near the stem to aft of the cabin. The vessel remained stranded on the reef.
An attempt was made by Rosenburg and Faarenheimo to get an anchor out over the edge of the reef to try to winch the Warren off, but the heavy seas capsized the dinghy. They disappeared for about half an hour before Schank saw them on the shore some 80 to 100 m away. The captain then gathered food and clothing onto two flat boards and swam ashore to join them, arriving about 1.00 a.m. The next morning the men returned on board to collect any remaining food. They returned to the beach and tried to signal passing ships.
They were unsuccessful in attracting attention so Rosenburg and Faarenheimo began to walk to the Moore River on 22 November. From there they sent word to Fremantle of their plight. The Fisheries Department launch Kooruldhoo (still afloat in early 2007) was dispatched to rescue Schank, who was picked up from the beach near the wreck on 27 November and taken to Fremantle.
INITIAL SALVAGE
Apart from the food and a small amount of clothing nothing was salvaged.