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An interim order was granted by the court and the scuttling was put on hold. The boat was

towed back to Simon’s Town to the anger of the Admiral who declared that “no naval officer
will take orders from a judge” – such is the arrogance of these bureaucrats.

Approximately a day later the Admiral had made up his mind to defy the order. Back in Simon’s
Town several tons of concrete were poured into the engine room and at around 02h00 the

Gelderland arrived off Duikerpunt, Hout Bay and was blown up – while Ken was still in bed.

SAS Nautilus, Rijger, Haerlem and Oosterland

The SAS Nautilus was commissioned on 23 August 1955 and decommissioned on 17 October

1985. She was laid up in Simon’s Town and eventually sold by public tender in 1989. She was
converted to a motor yacht in Cape Town. (Fig. 1.49).

The SAS Rijger was commissioned on 6 October 1958 and was converted to a missile target

barge. She was approved for disposal in 1992. She was purchased by Ken Evans and after
several years on a mooring in Hout Bay, he dismantled the boat and section by section took it

up to his house on the mountain – such is his passion to have his boats by his side at all times!

The SAS Haerlem was commissioned on 2 June 1959 and decommissioned in 1987. On 30

November 1987 she was scuttled as an artificial reef off Humewood Beach, Port Elizabeth.

The SAS Oosterland was commissioned on 8 September 1959 and converted to a re-usable

missile barge. She was sold to Ken Evans in 1990. During her time as a target barge she

sustained severe damage to the rudder when she dropped a mine over the stern during an
exercise. She is being transformed into a passenger carrier for recreational cruises. (Fig. 1.50).

Ton Class mine-sweepers

The Ton Class mine-sweepers were built in the 1950s for the Royal Navy. They were intended

to meet the threat of sea-bed mines laid in shallow coastal waters, rivers, ports and harbours –
a task for which the existing ocean going minesweepers of the Algerine Class were not suited.

Their hulls were made entirely of wood so that they would not activate magnetic mines. (Fig.

1.51).

They had a displacement of 440 tons and were 152 feet in length (46 meters), with a beam of

28 feet (8.5 meters) and a draught of 8 feet (2.4 meters). The earlier sweepers were fitted with
twin Mirrlees diesel engines and later with twin Napier Deltec diesels, which produced 300

shaft horsepower on each of two shafts. They had a top speed of 15 knots (28 kmph) and carried