A lighthouse averted catastrophes at Ravana Kotuwa

By Amal Hewavissenti

The Great Basses (Maha Ravana Kotuwa) and the Little Basses (Kuda Ravana Kotuwa) are a long line of coral and rock just below the surface of water in the South West sea of Sri Lanka.

The Great Basses and the Little Basses are located not far from Kirinda beach or Roomassala in Galle and have become world famous for the light houses built on reefs during British rule.

This perilous expanse of sea with coral reefs is generally identified with the name of King Ravana, the legendary ruler of Sri Lanka who, according to popular belief, established his 'Lankapura' on the reefs.

The ill-starred voyages of ships and allied catastrophes that occurred within this stretch of sea badly reek of the unexplained disappearances of the Bermuda Triangle. However, the Great Basses and the Little Basses have been strange areas that once fostered mystery and marine disaster before the light houses were erected.

The reefs barely submerged in the water were sure death for British mariners who were obsessed with lurking fears of their ships brushing against fatal reefs at any moment. The destruction lurking in 'Ravana Kotuwa' ultimately forced British administration in Sri Lanka to construct two light houses which afterwards averted the 'sea accidents' to a considerable degree.

Twin lighthouses

During eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, European colonists had been cruising the seas of Asia for the purpose of imperial expansion. Numerous ships sank during their frequent voyages and crossing the great reef on the South West of Sri Lanka became a horrible experience to Europeans. The doomed voyage of H.M.S. Daedalus (the famous ship that sank at Ravana Kotuwa in 1813) made the British Government in Sri Lanka expedite the building of the two lighthouses.

Accordingly, Captain Bournan employed a small ship near the Little Basses (Kuda Ravana Kotuwa). The ship with light signals successfully guided the ships sailing on the violent sea amidst storms.

The mariners had an agonising ordeal fetching food and other necessaries to the 'signal ship' during ten months of the year when the violence of the sea was at its worst. Thomas Steel, who had been a government agent for Hambanthota, describes the horrible situations faced by the men of the signal ship in their attempts to rescue vessels in the perilous sea.

As Thomas Steel warrants in his reports, the crew of the 'Signal Ship had disappeared for no explicable reason after they rowed on a boat to Paththana beach to take a rest.

Nothing has been revealed as to what had transpired following their arrival at the beach and it is a sheer mystery up to this date. However, the crew had left the 'Signal Ship' while Captain Bournan was preparing his daily reports in the ship. It is generally inferred that the unfortunate mariners might have fallen prey to animals in the Yala National Park.

As time progressed, it became pretty obvious that maintaining the services of the 'Signal Ship' was a pretty uphill task amidst the violent sea on the Ravana Kotuwa. Once, the boat rowed by captain Bournan and his men came to pieces on impact with coral reefs on the Great Basses. Captain Bournan and two of his men escaped death on the shores of Kirinda after an incredible four hour battle with the dashing waves on the high seas.Ultimately, based on the claims made by Admiral Pol, the chief of the naval Base of Trincomalee, British government reserved funds (33,900 pounds) and made plans to erect a light house on Maha Ravana Kotuwa.

For the light house, England shipped the required iron pillars and the lamp to Sri Lanka and a special engineer was sent to supervise the work.

The British government offered the contract of the building of the lighthouse to an engineering company, Trinity House with the surveillance by Sir James who had planned the celebrated Edistone Lighthouse.

Under his supervision, chunks of stone were shipped from Scotland and a special lamp designed by Michael Farady (the renowned inventor of electricity) was used for the project.

Things required for the building of the lighthouse were transported on ships from Galle harbour. The project of the lighthouse neared completion in 1873 under the surveillance of brothers James and William Douglass. The lighthouse is currently being maintained by the Sri Lanka Navy.

Sinking of Daedalus

H.M.S. Daedalus is a world famous ocean liner which was wrecked by violent impact with a submerged coral reef at the Great Basses and the Little Basses, prior to the construction of the lighthouse.

The wrecking of H.M.S. Daedalus at Ravana Kotuwa accounted for the destruction of a large number of passengers and valuable property.

The massive ship Daedalus is reported to have been carrying almost 270 passengers and around 40 cannons before it sank slowly into the bottom of the sea in one of the world's most impassable region of sea. H.M.S. Daedalus was a ship captured by the English in one of the fierce battles with France.Captain Murray Maxwell who managed to survive the shipwreck, off the coast of the South West Sri Lanka, later recounted one of the history's marine tragedies.

The ship H.M.S. Daedalus arrived at the harbour of Galle accompanied by another ship named Convoy. Later the captain sailed towards east some eight miles off the coast and passed the point of Devundara.

They were in total delusion that they had passed the dangerous reefs just below the water as indicated in the maps and were making their way to Trincomalee.

The morning twilight had totally shadowed the outlines of reefs some few feet below water and they were suddenly aware of an abrupt collision in the morning.

They failed in all attempts to block the influx of water and by the evening of the same day, more than half of the ship was filled with water. Presently the captain witnessed the most together with many of his crew going down the sea.

Treasure in the sea

Many ships bound to Colombo from Trincomalee had sunk at the Great Basses. The immense treasure of gold and silver coins, cannons, exquisite utensils, luxury items and myriad objects remain undiscovered on the bottom of Kuda Ravana Kotuwa and Maha Ravana Kotuwa. Recently a team of divers found copper coins in Canvas bags, bottles filled with unspoilt drinks, coins belonging to Moghul empire, bottles of brandy, pistols and large amount of silver coins stored in boxes.

The increasing number of ships being wrecked by coral reefs thus expedited the construction of the lighthouse.