The Goudriaan wrecked when it was caught in a north-westerly gale in anchorage and was then driven ashore with its stern into the mouth of the Salt River. The vessel broke apart at once, and most of those aboard were lost.

Eight other vessels wrecked that day, which resulted in a total of 208 lives and £160 000 of cargo being lost. At the time of the gale, the commanders of the ships were onshore to get the documentation for the fleet to leave for the Netherlands.

The Goudriaan has not yet been found as it lies beneath reclaimed land.

• Generale missiven Deel 10, 18.
• Lesa la Grange, Martijn Manders, Briege Williams, John Gribble and Leon Derksen (2024).
  Dutch Shipwrecks in South African Waters: A Brief History of Sites, Stores and Archives [Unpublished].
• Dijkman, A.E. (2019).
  Ramp van 21 mei 1737. Het verhaal van de grootste scheepsramp uit de VOC-geschiedenis. [Unpublished paper].
  Leiden University.
• Grootboek Goudriaan 1725.