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It was less than a mile to shore, but still amazing that one man made the swim https://maps.app.goo.gl/tLhRhBLb1DFMpCY56

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The article claims it was three miles to shore, not less than one:

> This course kept the Birkenhead within approximately three miles of the coast, maintaining a speed of approximately 8 knots.

> One young officer did manage the three mile swim to the shore where he emerged to find his own horse standing waiting for him.

The article is wrong. The coordinates of the wreck can be found in the diving guide https://wikitravel.org/en/Diving_in_South_Africa/HMS_Birkenh...

The Wreckage location can be different than where the ship went under, due to the currents.

> The large sandstone reef to the south east of the wreckage with a pinnacle at the blinder known as Birkenhead Rock slopes down to about 27 m at the edge of the sand, which runs roughly east–west magnetic. The slope of this reef is quite steep to the east, but flattens out a bit where the engines of the wreck lie stacked at the edge of the sand.

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