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By
Quique Garcia
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The
Serpent, English Royal Navy ship-school, left Plymouth on November
the 8th of 1890. Two days later, at 11 p.m. the cruise ended
in
the place known as "Baixos do Serpent", in the bay of Trece.
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 It
was dark and the sea was rough. The Serpent's crew could not realize
where they were going to. The English ship-school would become the
most famous victim of the treacherous Punta Boi.
After the crash against the Boi rocks, the ship
was immediately eaten by the gigantic waves. Only three of the 175
sailors survived. They arrived in the night to Xavina, where they
received all kind of attentions from the inhabitants.
When people arrived at Trece, the scene was
Dantesque: the whole bay was full of cadavers and remains of the ship.
Nine days later, the Lapwing sailed from Corunna to the well-known
Cemiterio dos Ingleses. Once finished the christian ceremony, the
Lapwing made a salute for Xavina's heroic performance.
 The
English Admiralty gave a riffle to Xavina's Parish priest, a gold
clock to Camarina's mayor, and a barometer for the city Council. The
barometer can still be seen in the facade of a house next to the harbour.
The Serpent figurehead "O Barbudo" is conserved as well.
During the following years, the English Admiralty
sent a Navy ship to the Boi just to throw a crown of flowers in the
sea. Until 1950, when an English war ship cruised in front of this
coast, it shot salvos as bereavement sign.
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Another version of this shipwreck is given by
Ramon Allegue, author of the book "Mar Tenebroso". According to this
writer, the English Government needed to send a great fortune to the
colonial army in South Africa. In this mission, due to the valuable
shipment, the Serpent would be escorted by the Lapwing.
The British pirates, who were well informed
about these matters, warned the Galician Raqueiros. The Galicians
managed to turn off the Vilan lighthouse, so that the Serpent crashed
against the Boi. The sea was so rough that the raqueiros could not
even reach the remains of the ship. The Lapwing decided to turn back
when they realized they had lost the Serpent.
 After
the disaster, the Mac Mahon stayed in the place watching over the
shipwreck's remains. The Lapwing returned with another ship, the Sunfly,
and they managed recovering a chest full with gold. Some days later,
when they realized that another coffer was missing, the Lapwing returned
to Camarinas. The British Government's hermeticism didn't allow to
know the existence of two coffers. As they did not find the second
chest, they justified the visit to the shipwreck place by the gratefulness
to the Camarinas' people heroism.
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