The Diaries
 
October 25th, 2006
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- Still looking back into the Past -

Jacques Morin on the deep-sea anchor
Credit : Jean-François Rebeyrotte
All of us were on the dock as early as 06:00 a.m. because we wanted to take advantage of the relative quietness of the swell to launch our dinghy. The wind was blowing at least 15 knots, but the wave train alternated with quieter moments of which we made the most.

The launching was quite successful. The day before, we had anchored a buoy off the island and fixed ropes so that the dinghy crew could face the waves. Eight strapping lads propelled the dinghy without any difficulty..

Since we knew the approximate GPS position of the anchor used to get the Providence under way on 27 September 1761 “at 5 o’clock in the evening”, we anchored a buoy and the divers soon discovered it.

Buoy rope made fast on the deep-sea anchor
Credit : Jean-François Rebeyrotte

To anchor the catamaran they had built to transport the anchor off the island, the castaways retrieved a kentledge that they combined to a grapnel. We were surprised to find this kentledge exactly where we put the buoy to keep our dinghy safe.

Our dinghy was therefore exactly -to within about a metre- where 245 years ago, the castaways launched the ship which building had required 2 months. The day before they left, Father Borée, the chaplain on board, had blessed the ship and baptized it Providence.
 
Once again we were following in the shipwrecked sailors’ footsteps as well as the Malagasies’ who had become their slaves. No matter if it was the result of a research carried out methodically or the work of fate, these meetings with the Past rewarded the whole team for their daily efforts.

Jacques Morin and Jean-François Rebeyrotte reached the anchor and made the buoy rope fast. The anchor was quite small, known as a “kedge anchor”, weighting about 800 pounds and used to perform harbour manoeuvres or to position the vessel for the anchoring.

A turtle trying to reach the high seas
Credit : Max Guérout

On dry land, we kept on probing but in vain…

Our hypothesis on shipwrecked victims being buried on the upper beach appeared to be wrong. They might just have been buried on the beach itself. If that was the case, it was impossible for us to find them because of the beach slope and the resulting sand thickness -about 4 metres deep.

We multiplied the contacts with the students who brought us a lot of freshness. We tried to answer them scrupulously and with a bit of humour if possible.

Rédacteur : M. Guérout

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