The waters of Honfleur have a long memory. They could tell you the exciting tale of Sainte Bernadette, a cutter built in 1926 and the last shrimping boat of this port city. It was originally named Serge-Olivier, after the names of the first owner's sons. An agile little vessel, it was the darling of the port until 1944. War ravaged the English Channel, and unfortunately the little shrimp boat couldn’t avoid enemy fire. Shattered into pieces, it owes its rebirth to the sheer will of the sailors who extracted it from the mud. The vessel was bought and given its present name in 1954. The rescued Sainte Bernadette pulled tonnes of shrimp from the Channel up until 1987, when she was finally retired. The boat would have fallen into obscurity were it not for the persistence of the enthusiasts who restored it and had Sainte Bernadette listed as a historic monument.
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