The most mysterious shipwreck in maritime history

Strong winds with speeds of 50 knots raged. The waves of up to 10 meters swung, throwing the ship into the reef. The sailors anchored to the sea floor were completely ineffective because the ship was broken. The waves swept the struggling people on the deck, throwing them into the sea and were immediately swallowed by the sea. The ship that sank down gradually brought with it all those who had it. The wind screams up the fierce mourning music .

The most mysterious shipwreck disaster in history

Reveals from the "excavation" of the ocean floor to the French expedition ship commanded by the La Perouse wrecked almost 220 years ago, a shipwreck is considered the most mysterious of maritime history.

Divers have worked hard for 20 days for a total of 730 hours underwater

Some artifacts are intact, sleeping in the sea for more than 2 centuries

The train exploded

The eighteenth century in Europe was the golden age of long and long sea expeditions of countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy, England, the Netherlands, France .

Such trips for the former continent brought a lot of knowledge about the world, preparing for the conquest of new lands, conquering colonies. Accompanying them are the great innovations of science. The French Emperor at that time Louis XVI , was given the task of leading an important expedition for Count De La Perouse , an experienced seafarer, who had joined the royal fleet since he was 15 years old.

La Perouse 's mission was to command the expedition on two ships La Boussole and l'Astrolabe considered the most advanced at the time. As soon as they made their way to strange countries with the West, the ship was conducting scientific research and learning about Eastern cultures. Even, the ship also carries seeds of vegetables and fruit trees to teach ethnic people 'to sell out' ways to grow and trim .

232 people of the delegation include very diverse components: 6 senior officials, 17 people including scientists of astronomy, physics, biology, botany, engineer, painter and . workers repair watches with naval officers and crew.

La Perouse's mourning journey

The train left Brest harbor on June 1, 1885 with 700 tons of real wages in the cellar, sailors and adventurers went to the northwestern coast of the Americas and headed for the Pacific Ocean.

Along this eastern ocean coast, the train has visited many non-European places, many deserted islands between the sea, the Japanese archipelago, the Russian Kamchatka peninsula . It has stopped 40 Day in Manila, where Spaniards have set foot on, to repair. Then the distressing events began to happen. 21 people died on three small boats to the station to land on the shore due to reefs. Captain De Langle of the ship l'Astrolabe of La Perouse's close friend was massacred with 11 aboriginal sailors on Salomon Island , when he ventured ashore to find fresh water. Then the train docked at Botany Bay in Australia on January 16, 1788, the day the earl of La Perouse sent his last letter to France to the Minister of Maritime for reporting the situation.

From there he wanted to go up north, across New Caledonia and Tan Ghi before returning to France . The chart was too sketchy, never recorded the existence of the old volcanoes that had sunk down. South Pacific, Vanikoro Island and terrible storms can occur in this region.

The disappearance of the two ships with more than 200 people and the fate of some escapes to the Pacific island since then has become one of the most mysterious of the history of the maritime industry.

Past searches

Forty years later, the Irish captain Peter Dillon was the first to follow La Perouse's voyage through little traces. He gathered some materials, some artifacts related to the shipwreck.

Twenty years later, on the basis of documents from Peter Dillon, a Frenchman, Dumont d'Urville, was sent straight to Vanikoro's nose to find out. Here, he found many other artifacts: anchors, cannons and many items of the royal expedition that he hired to pick up with rudimentary means. He built on the coast a memorial to the unfortunate French patriots and brought exhibits to display at the Maritime Museum in Paris. Since then, 217 years have passed.

La Perouse's secret is shaped

On May 18, 2005, the ship Jacques Cartier with modern salvage vehicles arrived in the Santa Cruz Islands, including Vanikoro Island to conduct an " excavation " under the sea to investigate the final secrets of the expedition train. commanded by La Perouse. Participating in this investigation is a team of 52 crew and divers, along with 30 scientists.

Jacques Cartier anchored a few hundred meters from the island. The researchers brought dozens of tons of salvage tools, from the smallest brush to the machine hammer, the machine to operate underwater, the advanced diving equipment. The location on this equator is very harsh. The downpour happened regularly and could not predict anything. The wind, storms and storms. And nowhere to hide.

About 20 divers are equipped with powerful flashlights, allowing 40m and 15m deep sightings. In order to have evidence, in places where artifacts are found, the excavators with all the strata must be used. At this time, a new character was added: Alain Conan, president of the Association of New Californians on Salomon Island. He was very interested in this because of the admiration for French restaurant La Perouse. He spent 7 times on his own to excavate the shipwreck. In 2003, his team recovered a gun weighing 900 kg. That same year, divers dived a skeleton . It was the first and only member of the expedition in the past. The remains he gave to the group were taken to France and handed over to the police's Criminal Research Institute to determine urgently. It was proved that it was a European man, about 30 years old.

This time, the team also collected shin bone and some other broken bones.Human bones removed from covered corals are the embodiment of sailors and scientists who sacrificed in the shipwreck. The most valuable object in the excavation is a azimuth compass equipped with both standard sight and hexagonal glasses ( sextant ). This marine tool engraved on Mercier's name. The official 12,000-page document that Alain Conan found addressed it: '. a hexagonal glass made by Mercier was granted to La Boussole by the Royal Maritime Institute', proving that this is the ship. wrecked by La Perouse.

Michel L'Hour and Elisabeth Veyrat, who commanded the salvage, with materials and artifacts recounted with emotion: ' One can easily imagine the unexpected disaster that happened to Perouse. and his ship when it encountered a storm. Strong winds with speeds of 50 knots raged. The waves of up to 10 meters swung, throwing the ship into the reef. The anchors that the sailors dropped into the sea floor were completely ineffective because the ship was broken. The waves swept the struggling people on the deck, throwing them into the sea and were immediately swallowed by the sea. The ship that sank down gradually brought with it all those who had it. The wind screams a fierce mourning music. '

Meanwhile, a mile away, the ship L'Astrolabe ran aground on a reef. About 50 sailors tried to get to the shore. And in turn they became prisoners of Vanikoro Island. The climate here is terrible for Europeans. The temperature was high, the humidity was so great that they couldn't breathe. Herds of bloodthirsty insects live under the mangrove tree to keep them quiet. Aboriginal people regard them as enemies. They have to eat everything they find in nature. Malaria destroys their bodies. They hid behind the thick bushes. In five months, find ways to match several boats to cross the sea, target Australia or Timor, but they have never reached their destination.

The investigation team confirmed the position of the two ships: the Boussole was located in a crack at the bottom of the sea. The ship L'Astrolabe ran aground on a reef. However, the mission of the investigation team has not ended. The artifacts brought back must be studied in laboratories, to tell the final secrets.

On August 15, 2005, Jacques Cartier left the salvage place, filled with answers, assertions and a new hope: Clarifying the sacrifice of the great French navigator , bringing the verse reply to everyone, especially for . emperor Louis XVI. Historians recount that when he stepped onto the scaffold (the French revolutionary king in 1789 executed), he was still in pain about the fate of La Perouse. His last statement before putting his head into the guillotine did not have to worry about himself, but: ' Is there any news about Mr. La Perouse? '.