La Roche Battue (the battered or beaten rock) which at high tide is not far into the stormy Bay of Biscay off the Grand Plage beach at Biarritz, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. It bears an inscribed cross and other memorials to the drowned five-man crew of the sloop ‘La Surprise’, which lost its sails and rudder in raging seas while carrying slate from Bayonne to London, England. The ship ran aground the next day, 17 November 1893, on La Roche Battue, also known as l’Arroque Trudade. One man was found dead but the bodies of the other four were never recovered.


Biarritz, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France: La Roche Battue - the aptly-named battered or beaten rock - at high tide, not far into the stormy Bay of Biscay off the Grand Plage beach, bears an inscribed cross and other memorials to the drowned five-man crew of the sloop ‘La Surprise’, whose home port was Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France. The ship lost its sails and rudder in raging seas while carrying a cargo of slate from Bayonne to London, England, then ran aground the next day, 17 November 1893, on La Roche Battue, also known as l’Arroque Trudade, with one man found dead and the bodies of the other four never recovered.


Size: 4256px × 2832px
Location: La Roche Battue, Biarritz, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

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