THE CHINA SEA – LOUIS BARTHÉLÉMY

THE CHINA SEA

"I, Louis-Barthélémy Morin, long distance captain, commanding the ROSA-DROUHET from the port of Le Havre,[...] with nineteen crew members,[...] declare that :

I took from BORDEAUX a load of 400 tons of coal belonging to the French government, and 296 tons of various goods belonging to various traders, to be delivered to Shanghai (China). I left BORDEAUX on the first of APRIL [...] and on the seventh of JUNE, I passed the [...]Cap of GOOD ESPERANCE, [...] without having anything to report. »

Thus began an adventure that was to be long and dramatic.

He encountered the two biggest typhoons the world had ever known and arrived in Shanghai in a wreck rather than a ship. He would remain there for a long time while waiting for the trial that would clear him of accusations of incompetence.

He kept the authorization to command.