Alf

Alf was a three-masted Norwegian barque which became stranded and then wrecked on 23 November 1909 on Haisbro Sands, off the coast of Norfolk. She was originally built in 1876 as Inchgreen for Scottish owners. In the 1890s she was sold to Danish owners and renamed Adolph Harboe. Around the turn of the 20th century she was sold to Norwegian owners and renamed Alf, serving until she was wrecked off the coast of Norfolk. History The Barque Alf was built at the shipyards of Caird and Company in Greenock, Scotland in 1876. She was constructed with an iron hull and she had three masts. She was ordered by W Lindsay and Company of Greenwich and she was initially called Inchgreen. In 1878, she sailed to Sydney, Australia with a crew of 23 and 13 passengers, arriving on 18 December. By 1891, she had been sold to Danish owners Fr. Harboe of Skjelskør, who renamed her Adolph Harboe. The code letters NVDH were allocated. In 1893, her code letters were NSHW. By 1895, the code letters NHBG were allocated. She was still on the Danish register in 1903. Later, she was purchased by Actieselsk Alf (Chr. Nielsen & Company) and renamed Alf. Final voyage The Alf had crossed the North Sea from Porsgrunn in Norway with a cargo of timber. She was heading for the port city of Liverpool with a crew of fifteen men aboard, including captain Orberg. On Tuesday 23 November 1909, Alf had reached the north east coast of Norfolk in good time but it was now dark, foggy and very cold. The master was unable to locate the Haisbro light vessel with the consequence that his ship ploughed into the Haisborough sands south-east of the Haisbro Light vessel. Captain Orberg soon realized he could do nothing to get the ship off the sand and that the only course of action was to abandon Alf. He ordered that the ship's boats be launched to get himself and his crew clear of the sandbank. The first mate was ordered to take charge of the port boat whilst the captain would take the starboard boat. The first mate was about to board his boat with the second mate close behind when a wave caught the boat and flung it away from the ship, breaking its tethers and leaving the two men clinging to the wreck of the Alf.