Documentary of the Week: Conquering the Empire of Ireland | The Impossible Adventure of Quebec Divers

Alexander Wignold
Press

Well known area in historyEmpress of Ireland It reads: On the night of May 29, 1914, the liner collided with the Norwegian Collier on its right side. Storestat. The ship, with 1,477 passengers and crew on board, is moving at breakneck speed. It quickly collapsed and dragged more than 1000 women, men and children, most of whom were imprisoned in their cells.

The worst maritime tragedy in Canadian history went around the world at that time. Divers from here and in the United States are involved in rescuing bodies, security, silver nuggets and mail bags. However, the sinking was out of the news as World War I broke out. After all, many years later, the exact condition of the ruins is now unknown.

According to documentary maker and marine historian Samuel Cote, we do not know where the wreckage was found. The Titanic It was not discovered until 1985, 73 years after it sank.

50 years since Quebec divers finally find out – and a series of coincidences –Empress of Ireland. Samuel Cote is indebted to a part of his film SucceedingThe Empress of Ireland befriended one of them, Claude Villeneuve.

“He shared the artwork with me, but above all no one saw the pictures taken in 1964,” says the documentary maker. Seeing them, I told myself that adventure is the only way to tell this story. ⁇

SucceedingThe Empress of Ireland is certainly returning to tragedy and its immediate consequences. However, it does focus on the lesser known aspect of the story: the search for the ruins. He triggers some failed or unsuccessful attempts and then lives with a group of divers including Claude Villeneuve, who finally finds her in July 1964.

The latter came to Remoski very bravely, but was fitted with a boat which was completely unsuitable for navigation on the river. By chance they met Abert Brillland, a wealthy businessman born in Rimoski.Empress of Ireland Since childhood, it has provided them with its own boat. Canadian. “Two days ago, this boat was not here. It’s too far from a detail for people to find a suitable boat to go to sea,” the documentary maker underlined.

Like others, Claude Villeneuve and his comrades are looking for the wrong place, relying on data to indicate the “predicted” state of the ruins. They needed a second fortune to reach the goal, namely the meeting with Donald Tremble at the Institute of Maritime to Quebec, who knew how to use Sextand and had old documents indicating the status he could find with help. Three markers: the Pointe-au-Père lighthouse and the bell towers of two churches in the area.

On July 16th, the adventurers set out on a float. On July 17, they circled the place for six hours. This is where men jump into the water. Thirty minutes later, the half-century-old mystery was solved. One of the inventors, Jean-Paul Fornier, said: “We do not know if this is the right boat.

Samuel Cote, author of an upcoming book entitled Eloy Fordier, wreck huntersWanted to pay tribute to these divers with SucceedingEmpress of Ireland, It will also be the subject of a paper work. “In 1914 and 1964 both divers risked their lives. Getting to know the wreckage cost Divers their lives, “he added, referring specifically to one diver who died during rescue operations and five underwater explorers who drowned between 1980 and 2002.” I want to remember their achievement. ⁇

SucceedingEmpress of Ireland, Saturday, 9pm, in Historia