Lady Nelson

According to reports found in Lloyds Register, the highly armed ship had been taken as a prize. Later, it operated as a privateer, a type of legal piracy where governments hired ships to attack and take hostile boats. With that rich background, the not-so-fair Lady sailed from Portugal on what would be its last trip, carrying 450 pipes of port wine—elongated casks made for transportation—for a total of more than 40,000 gallons of the renowned drink.

Near the Skellig Islands, a remote region of southwest Ireland with a 6th-century monastery that later served as a filming location for three-Star Wars movies, the ship ran into bad weather while traveling. The two survivors recounted how Captain Wade disregarded multiple requests to avoid sailing close to the perilous cliffs. Instead, after discovering that his wife was supposedly having an affair with the ship's mate, he wallowed in a drunken stupor.

Finally, 25 individuals ultimately drowned in the disaster to bring this fabulously meaty yet terrible tale to a close. Only 12 pipes of the coveted cargo were found by the authorities, leaving the rest of the premium weed for locals to enjoy.