Shipwreck Near St. Malo
Saint Malo is one of the most original places in the world, with old world and new world tales that blend into each other to make for some fascinating traveling. World travelers seem to fancy the city that rests against the sea, with walls to fortify it against invaders from a long lost past. During the second world war, the city suffered great damage from the Germans, but has been restored to its former graciousness. There are some splendid new touches, too, giving it an almost odd sense of being somehow out of time. For sheer tourist pleasure, there is something very rare about the hotels in Saint Malo that is hard to beat anywhere else.
The sea pervades through everything here, and it’s very difficult to forget. Not that one would ever want to, because it is some of the most exciting seascape in all of Europe, with a very exciting history. Today, visitors can enjoy the great selection of seafood available widely in the local restaurants. Venturesome travelers can check out the local fish markets, as well as looking into the other markets in nearby cities, but that could lead to a serious case of envy for the lifestyles that are possible here.
In 1905, however, the stories that the sea could tell are of a significantly darker turn, because that’s the year of one of the great shipwrecks in these waters. The SS Hilda left Southhampton for Saint Malo in December, and never did arrive. It was having trouble getting into port because of extreme snow squalls, and eventually hit the rocks at Pierre de Portes.
The stories of the attempts to save their own lives are harrowing, and 131 people died in the wreck, leaving only 6 survivors. Parts of the hull, the rear mast and parts of the boiler have been found recently, but so little else, that the scant wreckage is a testament to the severity of the wreck. In 2005, there were ceremonies to commemorate the ones who were lost in the tragedy, including “Onion Johnnies,” the name given to the Breton men who sold onions door to door in the U.K.