West of Portland is that most infamous lee shore, Chesil Beach, an eighteen mile arc of steeply shelving shingle, its pebbles endlessly sorted and sized by the sea so that the fine shingle at Bridport, its western end, gradually increases in size along the length of the beach until the stones are fist-sized at Portland. Here, where Chesil Beach joins the Island, countless ships foundered in the days of sail in the aptly-named 'Deadman's Bay'.

It was a merciless, and unsheltered coast between Portland and Lyme Regis where the Cobb, first built to protect shipping in mediaeval times has been rebuilt many times in the aftermath of fierce storms. East of Portland, before Portland Breakwaters were built to provide a Harbour of Refuge in the mid-19th century, ships sheltering in Portland Roads benefited from the protective arm of Chesil Beach.

Next along the coast Weymouth is reached, where the fine soft sands and calm waters of the bay brought the town fame in Georgian times as a health and pleasure resort. The tranquil scenery soon changes to the steep cliffs, tricky headlands, stony beaches and treacherous underwater ledges of Purbeck before the vast harbour of Poole is reached.

The sea has shaped Dorset's history of which shipwrecks are inevitably a part. Tragedies off the coast are thankfully less frequent now due to state of the art technology and the efficient rescue systems which are in place but the sea has a will of its own and as long as man is prepared to pit his skills against wind and tide there will inevitably be more names to add to the already long lists of Dorset shipwrecks.