Keith Mackie
Consulting Coastal and Harbour Engineer
Restoration of Historical Engineering Works
Keith has been the lead engineer in two major historical projects.
1. Placing a replica of the Diaz Caravel in the Museum in Mossel Bay
A replica of the caravel used by the Portugese navigator, Bartholomeu Diaz to discover and round the Cape in 1488 was built by the Portugal government to re-enact that voyage 500 years later in 1988 and sail from Portugal to South Africa. At the conclusion of this re-enactment, the vessel, weighing about 100 tons was left on the slipway in the little harbour of Mossel Bay. This is near to the point where Diaz turned around and sailed back to Portugal, having succeeded in rounding the end of Africa.
The caravel had to be got off the slipway, moved about a kilometre overland, taken up a 25-foot cliff, moved through a labyrinthine approach and then placed on permanent supports in a pit inside the museum. This was done very efficiently and economically by using an ancient type of ship sled coupled to modern dry docking technology. The total cost was less than a quarter of the cost of using modern methods.
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| Towing sled on greased timber | Raising caravel up cliff | Caravel inside museum |
2. Restoring the Battery and the Guns at East Fort, Hout Bay
This gun battery was built in 1781 by the French, using Indian troops, for the Dutch. It was originally established with eight, 18 pounder cannon (they weigh about two and a half ton each). These cannon were originally cast in Sweden in 1751. All eight guns were found in a recent archaeological dig, the casting numbers identified and traced back to the foundries in Sweden. They have now all been proof tested and licensed to fire blank rounds. Work is in progress to provide the guns with replica carriages and to restore the whole of the gun battery. When it is restored, it will be the oldest in the world still firing its original guns.
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| Firing signal gun | Guns on new carriages | Rolling Broadside |