Publications

On 21^th August 1873, Hypolite Worms, an English coal trader since 1848 and a shipowner since 1856, launches in the Red Sea the veteran of his fleet, the steamer "Sephora", which, until then, had known only the much colder waters of the Atlantic, the English Channel and the North Sea. This departure augurs others. The objective is to establish the first regular navigation line under the French flag in the Red Sea. This adventure will end sixteen months later, on 16^th December 1874. Sixteen months, during which the cargo ship "Sephora" will make about fifteen crossings and will face a number of hardships and mishaps: death of the first and second captains; repatriation of the chief engineer; rebellion of the crew; arm wrestling with the Navy; unfair competition; (fictitious) epidemics of plague; (actual) quarantine; damage...