History of the Centre

The Centre National des Naufrages

Late winter 1994, Mr Marc Tremblay, amateur diver, discovered, at l'Anse aux Bouleaux, in Baie-Trinité, artefacts that originated from a shipwreck that belonged to admiral William Phips' fleet – the Elizabeth and Mary – who came to attack Quebec, in 1690.

Since then, a group of divers and archeologists have been collecting and preserving various objects brought to the surface while the wreck, filled with sand and awaiting new searches, is resting before she reveals her last secrets. But what can be done with those artefacts, witnesses of an era and of a true particular reality of the lifestyle on a ship?

This question brought to life a mega project which, in a couple of years, will offer to the public a pool of structures dedicated to shipwrecks on the St. Lawrence River, and will include a museum, an information centre, a multimedia hall as well as an interpretation, research and genealogy Centre.

Phase I, for which the objective is to stimulate financing for the following steps, was kicked off on June 30 2004, with the launching of the multimedia presentation, Mayday. The 22 minutes presentation invites spectators to board a ship on which they can view various shipwrecks which took place on the River. More than being an informative element, the presentation is predominantly based on emotions and impressions that those tragedies leave on us. Re-enacted with a certain decency, the drama shows a Captain worrying about his daughter gone out to sea, about storms with raging elements, about cries for help, about starving castaways or about thousands of castaways dying on hostile grounds, especially during winter!

The main qualities of this attraction is the fact that it is making us aware that the sea floors of our region are haunted by the memories of numerous human lives, but also in creating within us a desire to learn more on a little known aspect of our history. We believe that the expansion of The Centre national des Naufrages du Saint-Laurent de Baie-Trinité can truly contribute in satisfying this need…