Ebb Reveals Galleon

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31330, 29 March 1967, Page 14

Ebb Reveals Galleon

(N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) . MONT ST. MICHAEL (France), March 27. Cannon from an ancient sunken galleon were revealed today as the English Channel tide rolled back to its farthest point this century. From Dunkirk in the northeast to Hendaye in the extreme south, crowds watched the sea uncover relics which had been hidden for years, some for centuries.

It was a result of an excep-| tional gravitational pull of the' sun and the moon—in line; will each other at the Spring Equinox. Near Conquest, in Britanny, the tide uncovered the remains of some ancient GallicRoman walls. At nearby St Mathieu, several cannon from a sunken galleon were found. In the bay of Bouarnenez, south of Brest a number of fossilised trees were seen. Off Normandy, among ships uncovered was the wreck of the cruiser Admiral Courbet scuttled in June, 1944, to act as a breakwater during the D-day landings. Scientists, tourists, fishermen, beachcombers and treasure hunters sloshed out in the wake of the tide in hopes of finding something of value. Fishermen had a field day. Armed with buckets, baskets and spades, they scooped up fish, lobsters and crabs trapped in pools or rocks. In the bay of Mont St Michel, a dam protecting meadows below sea level was smashed by the force of the returning seas, flooding the land. Firemen and farmers fought to close the breach with sandbags and earth before high tide.

The high tide also was expected to flood several harbour areas if the wind remained strong during the night. Dikes and harbour walls were

strengthened against the on-! slaught. Police warned the thousands of sightseers swarming through coastal fishing towns and villages to retreat well before the tide swept back to shore at up to 19 m.p.h. Police helicopters hovered over the beaches watching for anyone trapped in the many quicksands, but no-one was caught.

An adventurous 19-year-old i youth at Luc-sur-Mer was drowned when he took a small : boat into the English Channel ; to ride out on the tide. The boat overturned and his disi appeared beneath the sea. A few people took advantage of the freak tide to col•jlect a quick franc. At {Boulogne, youths sold “official >itickets” to see the tide at one I franc each to gullible tourists.