St Geran

[shipstamps]

A French East Indiaman of 700 tons, the St Geran was lost on the reefs off Ile d'Ambre, Mauritius, on the night of August 17-18, 1741 with only nine lives saved out of the 192 persons aboard, consisting of 120 passengers and 72 crew.

SG504 Sea Breezes 9/76

[aukepalmhof]

Built at Lorient as East Indiaman for the French East India Company.
11 July 1736 launched as ST GÉRAN.
Tonnage 700 tons, dim. 120 x 33ft.
Armament 18guns.
Crew 72.

11 November 1736 sailed for her maiden voyage from French to Pondicherry, India under command of Captain L. Laurent Aubin Dupleyssis, Loaded with textiles and metal-ware to be bartered for spices.
As was the case with all merchant vessels sailing down the west coast of Africa and around the Cape of Good Hope into the Indian Ocean, she was armed as well carried a company of soldiers to fight off pirate attacks. Mostly the East Indiaman was not fast and manoeuvrable and no match for the numerous pirate ships that preyed on maritime commerce during this period.
During her fourth voyage to the Indian Ocean under command of Captain Richard La Marre and on board 192 persons she ran aground on 18 August 1744 on the reefs of Poudre d’Or, Mauritius during a fierce storm, with the loss of 183 persons, only 9 persons were saved by the heroic action of the islanders.
The wreck is now a well known diving site on the island.
The ships bell of the St GÉRAN found in 1966 and other artefacts salvaged over the years were collected and can be found in the National History Museum in Mahebourg, Mauritius.
The story of her disastrous end and the heroism of the rescuers formed the theme of an epic novel “Paul and Virginia” published 24 years later by writer Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre.

Mauritius 1976 60c sg504, scott422. 1994 40c/5r , 15r sg907/09 sgMS911, scott790/792 794 (the 709 depict the ships bell and a mast of the ST GERAN)

Source: Watercraft Philately 2000 page 40. Wikipedia.

[D. v. Nieuwenhuijzen]

Model and wreck of the St. Géran