The Haerlem was on an outward-bound voyage from Texel Roads, which she had left on 7 February 1728 with 13 chests of specie and arrived at the Cape on the 7th of June 1728. The vessel was driven ashore near the Cape Castle in a north-westerly gale, at 3pm on Saturday 3 July 1728 after her cables had parted. She held together on the beach, which allowed all but two of her crew got ashore safely. The storm was so violent that two other vessels were driven ashore at the same time.

The Haerlem was refloated shortly thereafter and sent to Saldanha Bay for repairs. Having been repaired she returned to Table Bay, only to be driven ashore at 10 pm in another gale on the same day that she arrived: the 4th of December. She went aground on the beach near the mouth of the Salt River and immediately started to break apart.

Tragically, only 16 of her approximately 107 strong crew managed to reach the shore safely. 91 sailors lost their lives when the Haerlem wrecked.

Another Haarlem (Nieuwe) had previously wrecked in Table Bay in 1647

• Lorenzo Castro.
  A Duch East-Indiaman off Hoorn.
• Lesa la Grange (2024).
  Dutch Shipwrecks in South African Waters: A Brief History of Sites, Stores and Archives [Unpublished].
• SAHRA Database.
• Lorenzo Castro.
  A Dutch East-Indiaman off Hoorn.