|
Guernsey Shipwrecks by Ray Dafter
Guernsey Shipwrecks by Ray Dafter
It was a good thing author Ray Dafter went on holiday to Guernsey. Even better that he asked at its Fort Grey Shipwreck Museum if they had any reference books on Guernsey shipwrecks. 'We're always being asked that,'was the reply, 'and the answer is no. Someone ought to write one.'
Which is how Dafter came to fill a big gap on shipwreck enthusiasts' bookshelves. Until now we have used David Couling's Wrecked on the Channel Islands which, though excellent, covers all the islands.
Guernsey Wrecks takes in Alderney and Sark and records a whopping 814 shipwrecks. It is aimed at general readers as well as wreck and diving enthusiasts, so divers might find their favourite sites insufficiently covered for their taste, but the book does offer plenty of undived wrecks to investigate.
Some diving details are given about the 'Elizabethan Wreck'; unsuccessful searches for HMS Victory (the fourth 'Victory' - Nelson's was the fifth); Havre and Waverley, paddle-steamers in the same grave; Stella; the Gallo-Roman trading vessel in St Peter Port Harbour; and Oost Vlaanderen.
With 30 wreck pictures and five guidance maps, the book is brought up to date with a report and colour photos of the foundering of the Ievoli Sun, a 4189 ton Italian chemical tanker, off Alderney last October. Kendall McDonald |
| Guernsey Shipwrecks by Ray Dafter (Matfield Books, 01892 723173, www.matfieldbooks.com). Softback, 142pp, £14.95 |
|
|
Archive | 
