The 1947 shipwreck (December 2, 1947) was the biggest maritime disaster that occurred on the Portuguese coast, in the Matosinhos region, where 152 sailors lost their lives. On December 1, 1947, the trawlers began to arrive at the port of Leixões with few fish in the holds. In the middle of the morning, a trawler loaded with sardines came in and other masters, expecting a good catch, called the crew and began to stock the boats for another departure. During that afternoon, despite there being several foreshadowing of storms, 103 trawlers took to the sea and headed towards Figueira da Foz. At that time, the specter of hunger was greater than that of fear, leading these daring sea wolves to always face the waves without fear, leaving the bar many times not to return.
After a few hours, the weather changed radically, seeing the trawlers involved in an immense storm. The strong waves reached up to 10 meters, while the wind turned to the Northwest and the air cooled drastically. Some trawlers decide to return to Leixões, but the vast majority decide to continue. At dusk, the night turned black and moonless as the heavy clouds completely covered the sky and the winds turned cyclonic. At that time, everyone was trying to escape the storm, putting the maximum strain on the trawlers' engines and engines, desperately looking for a safe haven, while the sea carried sailors overboard and filled the trawlers' holds with water. Deep into the night, on land, there were whispers that something was wrong and people ran desperately towards the sand of Praia Nova, in Matosinhos. At the head of the southern pier in the port of Leixões, the women and children of the sailors crowded together as they caught a glimpse of the navigation lights of the trawlers that were desperately approaching the port. As soon as the first trawlers landed, they reported the bad news, four trawlers had been sighted, between Aguda and Senhor da Pedra, sailing in a distressing situation very close to the coast, and that, despite some masters having tried to warn them and to guide them in the right direction, with sirens, signals and even screams, they were unable to do anything because the violence of the storm was so strong that it prevented them from achieving their goals.
Finally, the news of the tragic reality arrived and it became known that in that dark and sinister dawn of December 2, 1947, the trawlers "D. Manuel", "Rosa Faustino", "Maria Miguel" and "S . Salvador", having perished a total of 152 sailors among those who were on the wrecked trawlers and those who fell overboard, leaving 71 widows and more than 100 orphans. Of the four trawlers sunk, only six sailors were saved, making this shipwreck the biggest maritime tragedy to have occurred on the Portuguese coast. In 2005, the monument "Tragédia do Mar" was inaugurated on Matosinhos beach, a sculpture in homage to the 1947 shipwreck, about three meters high, composed of five figures of orphans and widows whose faces show the tragedy that occurred in 1947. sculpted by José João Brito who was based, to make it, on the canvas of the same name created by the master Augusto Gomes.
In 2007, 60 years after the tragedy, the Municipality of Matosinhos decided to remember the fateful story by publishing the book "Naufrágio de 1947 – Toda a Saudade é um Cais de Pedra" which presents a detailed account of the events and includes photographs of all the fishermen. who died that day. With the aim of remembering the tragedy, a trunk was buried on Matosinhos beach with one of the books inside, to which a black ribbon two kilometers long was tied.
Address: Praia de Matosinhos
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