The wreck lies 50m for shore and is covered in kelp. The riveted plates of the aft and centre sections of the hull have been flattened to the level of the seabed. Boulders have built up around the bow and this protection has allowed it to retains some height and coherence. The forward hold is open and samples of manganese ore can still be found. In the centre of the wreck and towards the aft, the boiler is the most identifiable feature. The propeller shaft is some 16m long. At the stern, the sternpost, a pair of bits, the propeller shaft's thrust bearings, and a single 4-bladed iron propeller are also identifiable.

Event and Historical Information:
The GANDA was a iron-hulled C W Dodgun & Co of North Shields in 1875. Technical and configuration specifications are given as 474gt 309nt; 171ft length x 25ft 1in breadth x 14ft 6in depth; quarterdeck 85ft; screw propulsion powered a single steam boiler linked to a compound engine producing 74hp; machinery by W. & J. Almond, North Shields. The vessel had three changes of name during its service life - ex-CATHCART, ex VILLE D'ANVERS and ex CATHCART. At time of loss on 5 August 1904, the vessel was owned by T Nolson of Ghent and registered at that port. The GANDA was under the command of master C Schmidt and had been loading manganese ore at Rhiw. The vessel broke from its moorings at night and the rope became tangled around the ship's propeller, so that the vessel had no option but to drift ashore. On the following day, the ship was refloated and taken to deeper moorings off St Tudwel's Island. The vessel was then found to be leaking badly and so it was returned to the pier where it grounded and eventually split open its hull.

Sources include:

Board of Trade Wreck Return 1904, Appendix C, Table 1, p.118 (608)
Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002
Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 July - 30 September 1904, p.8 (h)
Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping, 1 July 1903 - 30 June 1904, number 71 in G

Maritime Officer, RCAHMW, November 2009.

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