The ship was on a voyage from Havana, Cuba, to Le Havre, France, with a cargo of sugar, when, in a storm at night, her captain mistook his position and steered south of the rocks he thought were the Les Casquets. The rocks were, in fact, the Écréhous and by steering south he accidentally ran the ship onto the rocks off Jersey in the Channel Islands. The crew was saved.[5]
Carrying a cargo of government supplies, the 287-ton sternwheel paddle steamer struck a rock and sank in shallow water in the Cumberland River in Tennessee. She was refloated the next day.[11]
The Aberdeen-based Invercauld left Melbourne for Callao on 2 May. During a severe gale south of New Zealand, the ship hit the northwestern tip of Auckland Island and swiftly broke up. Of the 25 crew, six were lost in the wreck, the survivors were washed ashore and subsisted on plant roots and shellfish for a little over a year. By the time of their rescue only three of the crew were still alive: Captain George Dalgarno, Ship's Mate Andrew Smith, and one seaman. They were rescued by the Julian (Peru), which was en route to Callao, on 20 May 1865.[13]
Contemporary sources have somewhat different information, referring to the Minerva being wrecked in identical circumstances, with four survivors being rescued on 25 March 1865.[14]James Teer, a survivor of the shipwreck of the General Grant recorded that in April 1867 the survivors found a stave on the mainland on a point inside Enderby Island. On the stave was written in charcoal Minerva - 4 men, 1 officer - Leith - May 10th, 1864 - March 25th, 1865. Teer notes from the relative position of the words, our impression was, that the word Leith had reference to the man or men, and not to the Minerva.[15]
The 175-ton brigantine parted her anchor cable off the coast of Taranaki during a heavy swell and was wrecked on a rocky shore between Oakura and Cape Egmont without loss of life.[18]
The barque was wrecked at the mouth of the New River in southern New Zealand. She was being towed by the tug Aphrasia towards Foveaux Strait which was in heavy swell, when the towrope parted. The tug was unable to keep the barque on course and it struck rocks, holing her below the waterline. All passengers and crew were landed safely.[21]
20 May
List of shipwrecks: 20 May 1864
Ship
State
Description
Australian
unknown
The brig was deliberately run ashore at Akaroa, New Zealand after she was holed.[22]