Admella Cup

    https://www.trybooking.com/DADSOThe Portland Yacht Club will again host the Annual Ademlla Cup match racing regatta on the 5th & 6th of April 2025.

This event will be open to teams of 3 - 4 competitors. There will be a practice session available for crews on Friday 4th April from 5-7pm with the round robin series plus finals starting on the Saturday 5th of April and concluding on the Sunday 6th April 2024. Entry will be capped at 6 teams for the event. Entries will close when the six positions are full or at midnight Wednesday 2nd April, whichever is sooner.

Enquires can be made to our Vice Commodore Luke Donovan 0407 548 582 or Mick Doherty 0431297279

to enter use the following the link https://www.trybooking.com/DADSO

Admella shipwreck in 1859

The SS Admella was an iron-hulled ship that was on its way from Adelaide to Melbourne when it hit a reef off South Australia's southern coastline on Saturday 6 August 1859. It took several days for two seamen who had made it to shore, to then walk the 20 miles to the Cape Northumberland lighthouse.  The lighthouse keeper borrowed a horse and rode to Mount Gambier to raise the alarm.  The information then had to be telegraphed to Adelaide and Portland, Victoria. 

Wreck of the 'Admella'. Research suggests that this may not be the steamship 'Admella' that was wrecked off Carpenters Rocks in 1859. SLSA: B 41900

The rescue

Two rescue boats were sent out, the Corio from Adelaide and the Ladybird from Portland. The Corio wasn't able to reach the wreckage until Wednesday of that week.  Twenty survivors were still clinging to the wreckage. Most of the Admella's passengers and crew had already drowned in the heavy seas or died of thirst or exhaustion.

It took another three days, eight days after the shipwreck, for the lifeboat Portland working with the Ladybird, to crash through the heavy seas to complete the rescue. Repeated attempts by the two larger ships had failed. In total, 89 lives were lost, including several of the rescuers. Women, men and children died. Families were destroyed. Working men lost the tools of trade, which also meant the loss of their livelihoods.