Shipwrecks of Saint Malo

The two Shipwrecks of Saint Malo, the Aimable Grenot and the Daupin, were discovered in 1995 on the Natière reef off the coast of Saint-Malo, dating to the first part of the 18th century. Their discovery and the subsequent underwater excavation has provided lots of information on 18th century marine lifestyles and shipbuilding.[1][2][2]

Saint Malo in the 18th century

In the 17th and 18th centuries the Port of Saint-Malo was very busy and heavily used, with over 3000 arrivals and departures and 100 000 tonnes trade tonnag each year. However the harbour is impacted by strong currents, a large tidal range and reefs, making access perilous. Subsequently, the port is one of the world's largest underwater graveyards.[3] The port trade led to population growth and development in the city. The neighbouring towns of Granville and La Havre were also powerful ports at this time.[4]

The Dauphine

The Dauphine was built over the winter on 1702-1703 and fitted out as a 300 tonne frigate, when she was sunk she was under the command of Captain Michel Dubocage. The excavations uncovered 31 metres of the starboard side from the aft to the gun deck. As a commercial raiding or privateer, vessel she had been given to private merchants by Louis XIV for "Commerce Raiding Against the State's Enemies". She was escorting a captured English ship, the Dragon, when she sank at the entrance to Saint-Malo on 11 December 1704.[5] The ship appeared to have voyaged over the Atlantic or the Mediterranean, as ascertained by the presence of crockery, heavy ordannance and both pistols. Many finds were recovered from the ship including personal items from the crew.[5][6]

Historical research has built up an image of the Captain Dubocage, from La Havre. He had been a frigate lieutenant since the age of 16 and captained his first vessel at the age of 18 in 1694. He appears to have participated in several episodes of commercial raiding. After the sinking of the Dauphine he was cleared of incompetence and went on to have a full naval career including expeditions to the Pacific, he died in 1727 as a wealthy benefactor to La Havre.[7]

The Aimable Grenot

The Aimable Grenot was another privateer bound for Cadiz in Spain to ply Mediterranean trade at the time of its sinking. The Aimable Grenot was also preserved on its starboard side from the keel to the second deck, for a length of 36 metres. It was dated by dendrochronology to having been built around 1746/47 in Granville, weighing 400 tonnes. Along with personal items and artefacts related to the sailing of the ship such as rigging and tools, the ship also contained cast-iron ingots stamped with 1746 and 1747. These ingots were stamped with the marks POTUXENT and Stepn Onion, which refer to two Baltimore iron foundries which supplied ballast for English ships.[8][9]

The Aimable Grenot came out of Granville which had its archives badly damaged during the second world war thus making it harder to identify the ship's crew and voyages. However its captains have been identified as Pierre de la Houssaye who handed over to Joseph François Hugon, sieur du Prey in 1647. It appears that both captains had a daring reputation and the ship had become famous at the time of its sinking.[10]

Excavations

The ships were discovered in 1995 by Jean-Pierre Génar, a diver who was exploring the area around two "ship-traps", large rocks which are only visible at on very low tides, at the north and south end of the natiere reef. It appears that the reef and surrounding sands had provided excellent protection for the wrecks, even though their remains were scattered over 1000metres squared.[11] Ten excavations took place between 1999-2008.The ships were identified as the Dauphine and the Aimable Grenot. The ships were dated using dendrochronology.[12]

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References
  1. "The Saint-Malo shipwrecks". Les épaves corsaires de la Natière. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  2. Veyrat, Élisabeth. "The Two Shipwrecks of La Natière, Saint-Malo (France): An archaeological contribution to the Atlantic maritime landscape of the first half of the 18th century". Ships and Maritime Landscapes, Proceedings of the 13th International Symposium on Boat and Ship Archaeology (Amsterdam, 2012).
  3. "An underwater graveyard". Les épaves corsaires de la Natière (in French). Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  4. "The Dauphine and the Aimable Grenot". Les épaves corsaires de la Natière (in French). Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  5. "The Dauphine, a royal 300-tonne frigate". Les épaves corsaires de la Natière (in French). Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  6. "Les épaves corsaires de la Natière - Ministère de la Culture". www.culture.gouv.fr (in French). Retrieved 2019-02-08.
  7. "Michel Dubocage, captain of the Dauphine". Les épaves corsaires de la Natière (in French). Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  8. "The Aimable Grenot, a 400-tonne frigate from Granville". Les épaves corsaires de la Natière (in French). Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  9. "Les épaves corsaires de la Natière | Musée archéologie nationale". musee-archeologienationale.fr. Retrieved 2019-02-08.
  10. "Hugon des Prey, captain of the Aimable Grenot". Les épaves corsaires de la Natière (in French). Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  11. "The Natière site". Les épaves corsaires de la Natière. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  12. "Keel and keelson". Les épaves corsaires de la Natière (in French). Retrieved 2019-02-08.
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