A painting imagining the moments before the wrecking of the three-masted iron sailing ship Khyber (1880) at Porth Loe Cove, near Porthgwarra. A port broadside view of the Khyber at anchor in very rough seas below the cliffs near Guthensbras Point. The sails have blown out and are shredded on the yards. The painting by Alexander Gibson was done in response to the fact that the ship was lost in ten minutes and could not be photographed. See also G14298 for an 8x6 inch glass negative of this image.

The three-masted ship Khyber (1880) was on passage from Melbourne to Falmouth, Queenstown or Plymouth for orders with a cargo of wheat in bags. Having left on 24 October 1904, the passage had been uneventful until a gale off the Azores on about 5 March 1905 when they hove to. They did not sight land until 14 March when they saw Wolf Rock while on starboard tack heading towards The Lizard. On making The Lizard at about 630pm the crew found that they were not going to weather it so wore onto port tack. The wind increasing to a gale blew the sails out and the replacement storm sails. They fired 24 rockets and burnt flares to call for assistance. The ship drifted until anchors were dropped at about 11pm off Guthensbras Point and eventually dragged shoreward. Sometime after 710am on 15 March 1905 the anchors parted and the Khyber struck the rocks, breaking up in about 10 minutes. 23 of the 26 crew were lost. [Inquiry Report, 30 May 1905]