Naufrágio Workman

The Workman was an English steam cargo ship with a steel hull, built in 1898 and 137 m long. It sailed from Vancouver, Canada, to London via the Strait of Magellan, with a stop in San Francisco, United States. It carried cases of canned fruit, barley, corn, potatoes, salmon, ham and asparagus.

Navy tugboats such as the Laurindo Pita and the Guarany tried to move the ship from its position, and part of the cargo of canned sweets was thrown overboard in an attempt to refloat it, without success. Newly arrived in Rio in 1913, the Guarany had this attempt as one of its first missions, but the ship was already a total loss when it arrived. At the time, newspapers said the place was so remote that it was impossible to send a photographer, not even on the back of a donkey. While the crew was unloading the ship, a violent storm with strong southwest winds broke the hull and the Workman sank. Almost all the crew were rescued by the tugboat Brasil, but two drowned after a wave swept them off the stern. The survivors were repatriated aboard the P.S.N.C. ship ORCOMA.

Today the wreck is largely buried, with only the larger pieces exposed, but this varies a lot with waves and tides. Among the wreckage are the three-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, split into two parts: the cylinders and the eccentric shaft with the connecting rods. Also remaining are the shaft on its bearings, the boilers and, at the stern, on the rocky ledge, the steering wheel assembly. At the bow there is an upside-down winch, a hawsepipe and the chain locker with a large amount of chain.