BRIDPORT twinners were shocked and saddened to hear about the sinking of their favourite French vessel the Mary Magdalene.

Twinner Mike Farmer said: "We were very shocked to hear of this very sad sinking of the Mary Magdalene.

"It was quite dramatic off the Saint-Marcouf Islands.

"I wanted to say how sorry we were and how Bridport people have enjoyed trips and how it must be such a very sad loss St Vaast and to us.

"They are in absolute shock in St Vaast because it was a sort of local mascot.

"And we want to pass our sympathy on to Jacques Dadure, the skipper."

The Mary Magdalene was a sailing/fishing boat built in Barfleur in 1934. It was restored by Jacques Dadure over decades.

Mr Farmer added: "He was very generous, taking twinners on trips out in French waters but the boat has been here too.

"It came here about ten years ago when John Laurence and myself were invited to go to St Vaast and come back here on the Mary Magdalene.

"It hit a rock in not particularly well charted area quite close in to shore."

But that was not the end of the story.

Next high tide try and get it off gang try and seal inside to try and float it off moved on rock and someone fell in the sea and they had to get the helicopter out and then the rest of them had to be had to be rescued also by helicopter because the lifeboat couldn't get because of the rocks.

According to French coastguards the wreckage of the Mary Magdalene sank during a re-floating operation. A rescue operation had to be conducted to recover the master and crew.

When it first hit rocks the 16 people on board were rescued by the lifeboat.

A few days later the captain went out again with a team to try and refloat it.

The ship began to disintegrate and the five crew on board had to be rescued by helicopter, but not before three had fallen into the sea.