[Pearls Before Swine]

Talk about a jinxed ship. Wow.

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It tells of a desperate sea battle off the Malabar Coast of India with six pirate ships in which a roundshot from the President penetrated the powder magazine of one of the pirate vessels which exploded.

Mr Gibbins added: “Cannons are common finds on the wrecks of merchant ships from the age of sail, when most ships were armed. But it’s very unusual to know that guns on a merchantmen were actually used, especially in such a colourful action and on the very voyage on which the ship was wrecked.

Pirates, starving, storms, shipwrecked, beaten and robbed. Whew!