![Pwll Dafan - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Pwll_Dafan_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1006077.jpg)
Sker Point is a headland in
Bridgend County Borough
Bridgend County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. The county borough has a total population of 139,200 people, and contains the town of Bridgend, after which it is named. I ...
on the
South Wales coast between
Port Talbot
Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south ...
and
Porthcawl
Porthcawl (, ) is a town and community on the south coast of Wales in the county borough of Bridgend, west of the capital city, Cardiff and southeast of Swansea. Historically part of Glamorgan and situated on a low limestone headland on the S ...
. It marks the south end of Kenfig Sands. The placename ''Sker'' is of
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...
origin, and means
skerry
A skerry is a small rocky island, or islet, usually too small for human habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low sea stack.
A skerry may have vegetative life such as moss and small, hardy grasses. They ar ...
.
On April 23, 1947, the ''
Samtampa'', a
liberty ship
Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Ma ...
, was wrecked at Sker Point. Her crew of 39 perished and all eight volunteer crewmen of the
Mumbles
Mumbles ( cy, Mwmbwls) is a headland sited on the western edge of Swansea Bay on the southern coast of Wales.
Toponym
Mumbles has been noted for its unusual place name. The headland is thought by some to have been named by French sailors, ...
RNLI lifeboat
Lifeboat may refer to:
Rescue vessels
* Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape
* Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues
* Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen
...
were lost while attempting to rescue them. There is a memorial plaque set into the rocks of Sker Point.
Kenfig.org.uk Local History resource
Accessed 28 October 2013
''Sker Point'' is also the title of a song by the Welsh heavy metal band Triaxis.
References
External links
Report of the shipwreck
*
{{coord, 51.50226, N, 3.75045, W, region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SS786796), display=title
Headlands of Bridgend County Borough