How2Day: Shipwrecks of the English Channel

Dover, an English Channel port port douvres image by jerome berquez from Fotolia.com
The English Channel has at least 267 documented shipwrecks resting in its watery grave. The combination of rough waters, frequent warfare and piracy have contributed to the demise of many a vessel. Some ships met their end due to a squall or succumbed to the damage of battle, while others mysteriously disappeared on the high seas leaving scientists to speculate on their whereabouts.

HMS Victory was discovered at the bottom of the English Channel in 2009 by an American salvage company called Odyssey Marine Exploration. The ship disappeared in 1744 with reportedly $1 billion (2010 equivalent) worth of gold bullion on board. It was later determined that the ship sank during a violent storm with all 1,000 members of its crew in tow. Design flaws in the massive ship accounted for its demise. A top-heavy deck and improperly aged wood played a part in the disaster.

La Vierge Du Bon Pont sailed during the reign of Louis XIV as part of the French East India Company. The ship was assigned to travel to Madagascar with the intention of beginning a new French colony on the island and returning to France with various samples in her hull. The vessel boasted 30 cannons and 300 pounds of cargo space for foreign goods. The ship arrived safely in Madagascar and nearly made it home to France with its precious cargo but was attacked by the British in the English Channel. The ship sunk quickly taking a large part of its crew and 36 British looters with her.

The August of 1944 the HMS Hussar was attacked by friendly aircraft while doing a routine mine sweep in the English Channel. The Hussar tried to alert the RAF aircraft that it was part of Allied forces with a recognition signal but the pistol jammed. The aircraft continued the attack for 11 minutes then left the HMS Hussar to its fate. Of the crew 56 were killed and 39 wounded. It took only 12 minutes for the ship to sink.

The White Ship was offered to King Henry I of England after his victory at the Battle of Brémule in France in 1120 but having made other travel plans he gave it to his son, Prince William. Prince William and his royal entourage lost themselves in revelry aboard the ship and fell behind the rest of the fleet. The young Prince, full of verve, wanted to lead the pack and insisted that the oarsmen row full speed ahead. The ship ran into a patch of rock at full speed and begin to take on water.

The Prince was able to board a dinghy but too many of the drowning noblemen grabbed onto the small boat in a panic, pulling it under with them. The tragedy had only one survivor, a butcher named Berold, and they say the grief-stricken Henry I never smiled again,

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