Action of 31 March 1800 fleet anchored in Aboukir Bay to support the troops ashore and was surprised and almost completely destroyed on 1 August by a British fleet under Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson. Only two ships of the line and two frigates escaped the Battle of the Nile from the 17 French ships that participated in the action. Of the survivors, the ship of the line "Généreux" sailed for Corfu while "Guillaume Tell", under Contre-amiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, reached Malta with the two frigates. When Villeneuve arrived at Malta in September 1798, the island was already in turmoil: the dissolution of the Roman Catholic Church
Ships lost in San Francisco Ships lost in San Francisco Many ships were wrecked in and around San Francisco Bay. During the centuries San Francisco Bay with its strong currents, rocky reefs and low fog conditions has become a place of more than a hundred shipwrecks. Ever since San Francisco Bay was discovered during land expedition by Gaspar de Portolà in 1769, it has been one of the most popular harbors. During the California Gold Rush, thousands of ships sailed in and out of San Francisco. The sea became the cheapest way of bringing goods to the growing city. From 1848 to 1869, ships carried