What lies beneath?

I was up in Bridlington today, one of those mornings where the journey  from Hull was in bright spring sunshine and yet as soon as the road signs showed 1 mile to the town there was nothing to be seen because of a thick, damp and chilly sea-mist.


I can testify that under such localised weather conditions it is perfectly possible to visit the coastal resort, drive about on the promenade and northwards to the modern residential estates without getting any glimpse of the North Sea. Other senses are bombarded with the smell of the ocean and the sound of reeling gulls following the urban bin collectors but with complete deprivation of that wonderful sight of the sea that somehow strikes a deep sub-conscious chord amongst us as island dwellers.


The southwards view from about 2 miles out of Brid on the road towards Filey is usually a broad and sweeping panorama over the wide crescent bay and the fragile boulder clay cliffs.


Somewhere out under the bay is a famous wreck with periodic exploratory visits from oceanographers to seek it out. The arrival of such parties excites the interest of the Bridlington residents and provides a welcome boost to the tourist industry over and above the regular day trippers from  the urban conurbations of West Yorkshire. Leeds on Sea it may be affectionately named.


Have they actually found it or is the final resting place of the Bonhomme Richard still a matter of much speculation and mystery? It is not just any old ship but a symbol of an emerging nation stirring up considerable trouble with its former Colonial Masters.


Its Captain, John Paul Jones, was arguably one of the first heroes of the Independent America. His appearance on the east coast of England and the wreaking of havoc in British Home waters really established his status when the conflict was otherwise out of sight on the far side of the Atlantic. There is considerable information known about JPJ. His Scottish origins explained his subsequent anti-British stance and allegiance to America. He also served in the Imperial Russian Navy and was honoured by the French for his exploits. The British, understandably regarded him as a pirate and mercenary.


He went to sea at the age of 13 as an apprentice from Whitehaven, Cumbria and served on merchant and slave ships until joining the American navy around 1775. There followed various campaigns against British shipping and also an assault on Whitehaven itself in 1778 which resulted in  setting fire to a moored coal ship and shore based installations. The threat of attack in an early form of terrorism on behalf of the Revolution did cause considerable anxiety amongst the British as well as diverting significant resources of ships and men to counter the privateers.


JPJ took command of Bonhomme Richard in 1779. A rebuilt merchant vessel with 40 plus guns and a gift to America from a wealthy French sympathiser. He brought the ship around the top of Scotland with a small entourage of warships to create panic as far south as the Humber Estuary. The crucial battle took place just off the chalky projection of Flamborough Head which forms the northern sweep of Bridlington Bay on the 23rd of September in that year. The target for JPJ was a large merchant convoy but its escort comprising the powerful HMS Serapis and smaller Countess of Scarborough intercepted and the potential prize bounty was able to escape. Against a potent British force of superior guns and range JPJ sought to ram and lock Bonhomme Richard into Serapis so that his Marines and battling crew could fight hand to hand. In the confusion of a close quarters naval encounter friendly fire from JPJ's fleet contributed to the setting afire of the Bonhomme Richard and its eventual sinking. JPJ was able to commandeer HMS Serapis after its surrender and found temporary sanctuary in a sympathetic Holland.


The sea conditions off Bridlington served to conceal the location of the wreck, cloudy waters and thick mud enveloping what would have survived after the battle. A 2010 report into a possible discovery of the wreck was later retracted as being of another 18th century ship and not the Bonhomme. The search continues for one the most iconic vessels in history.


JPJ died in Paris in 1790. His remains were placed in what soon became a derelict city cemetery until recovered and exhumed in 1905. The body after a lengthy post mortem examination and identification from a bust was returned to the United States and in 1913 was laid to rest in a bronze and marble sarcophagus in the Naval Academy Chapel in Annapolis as befitting a hero of the American Revolutionary War.