This Knivestone is a bit of a magical mystery tour. There are at least two wrecks on the north side of the rock and no one is 100% sure what either wreck is, though the most likely candidate for the main area of wreckage is the 2135 ton Belgian steamship Jan Van Ryswyck.
A plateau descends into a gully parallel to the reef. Turning north-east the wreckage fizzles out at about 16 metres, with the gully continuing and widening further out. There are numerous small pieces of steel poking out of the pebbles and gravel on the floor of the gully, all polished of the worst rust and slowly being eroded away.
Ascending back along the gully, the pebbles on the floor give way to more substantial rock with a couple of large ribs lying along the gully. At 14 metres the gully opens out into a saddle to deeper water, with the centre of the saddle occupied by a large 4-bladed iron propeller. The tip of one of the blades is missing.
Past the propeller a shaft much too thin to have been the propeller shaft lies propped against the reef. Rather than continuing down the other side of the gully, turn right and across the saddle. There are again lots of small scraps of wreckage, but nothing substantial until about 10 metres from the propeller at a depth of 16 metres where the remains of a steam engine lies down the slope.
It's a fairly standard 3 cylinder triple expansion engine, orientated with the end that would have connected to the propeller shaft pointing up the slope and back towards the propeller. The base of the engine and crankshaft are level, with all the pistons fallen to one side.
From the top of the engine, the remains of a substantial hull rib leads down the slope to a section of hull at about 20 metres.
Nearby two boilers stand upright, one propped against the other to leave a triangular swim through between. The sides and tops of the boilers are covered in white and yellow dead men's fingers. Holes rotted in the sides show the fire tubes inside.
Assuming the propeller, engine and boilers are all from the Jan Van Ryswick, the line fits in with the course from Antwerp to Grangemouth. It would have struck the Knifestone from the south and to end up in this orientation it must have continued across the rocks, tearing the bottom out of the hull before sliding down the opposite side and sinking.
Such a pattern is of sinking does not seem to be unusual in the Farnes. Both the Chris Christenson (wreck tour 32, October 2001) and Britannia (wreck tour 45, November 2002) lie pointing away from the rocks having either run along them or right across them.
A little further out from the boilers, the last significant piece of wreckage I have encountered is a steel box with ribs across the top. Swinging further out reveals a few odd scraps of wreckage, but nothing substantial. I suspect there are some large bits of the bow out there somewhere.
Retreating back past the boilers and engine, a section of keel lies against the rocks to one side of the saddle.
Back in the gully identifiable pieces of wreckage include a pair of small bollards and a pile of chain, though the chain does not look heavy enough to be anchor chain from a ship this size. Maybe it was part of the steering, or maybe it is anchor chain from another ship.
Further along some larger ribs and plates have survived, though the wreckage soon fizzles out again at the end of the gully. Searching down slope here reveals nothing more, though there are some quite pretty boulders with dead men's fingers.
Continuing along the face of the Knifestone is more successful. Another large 4-bladed iron propeller could have been a spare from the Jan Van Ryswick, but it is quite a way from it and not where it would be expected to have fallen.
A little further on a single boiler rests against the edge of the slope, indication of another ship having come to grief on the Knifestone and most likely the owner of the propeller.
The last identifiable items of wreckage in this area are an anchor, then halfway up the slope another anchor on the way back to the kelpy plateau and 5 metres. An ideal depth for a safety stop while playing with the seals.