Nauticalia

The Tek Sing (True Star) set sail from China, bound for Java, in 1822. She was heavily laden with Chinese porcelain, 1,600 passengers (mostly living outside on deck) and 200 crew. After 24 days she struck a reef, and quickly sank, taking more lives than even the Titanic disaster 90 years later. In 1999, salvage diver Captain Mike Hatcher found the wreck and recovered her porcelain cargo - the largest ever discovery of its kind, and in remarkably good condition. Read more of the story on our Captain's Log pages.