French brig Alerte (1787) at Venice between June and July 1797. On 1 August 1798 she was at the battle of Aboukir Bay (Battle of the Nile). Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys D'Aigalliers hoped to lure the British fleet onto the shoals at Aboukir Island, sending the brigs "Alerte" and "Railleur" to act as decoys in the shallow waters, but the plan failed. Then, as the British fleet approached, Brueys sent "Alerte" ahead, passing close to the leading British ships and then steering sharply to the west over the shoal in the hope that the ships of the line might follow and become grounded. None of
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