SeaCastle Magazine SeaCastleMagazine n.1, luglio 2017 | Page 23

PERSONAGGI / OUR CHARACTERS
T
he sea was flat at the sunrise
and the fishing boat Santissimo
Salvatore, with the eight members of
the crew, had left the little harbor of
Castellammare.
In the afternoon the sea started
to move with a soft mutter, then it
began to shake and boil with a foamy
swirling.
The West wind and the Mistral joining
together broke out into a storm
of unprecedented violence. The
wheelhouse and the cabin broke, it
was impossible to govern the boat and
water started to get in. The vessel sank
in a final rip.
This is the chronicle, but the story of
the sailors of Santissimo Salvatore
does not finish here.
Seven men and a boy were gathered
around the fire sheltered by the
cave of “Uzzo”. Nobody of them
remembered neither of having been
a sailor nor having shipwrecked. One
of them had told that little further on,
pointing westward, a fishing boat had
shipwrecked. “We at least, another of
them answered, when a storm breaks
out have shelter. The life of a shepherd
is hard, but safe.
Fire brought memories; silently,
listening to everyone, there was Pietro
Benzio. He was only twelve, he had
nothing to tell.
The next day, 17th of November at
10 o’clock, stranded on the “Praja”
beach a lifeboat belonging to the
Santissimo Salvatore was found. Some
days later a bottle tied to a piece of
cork was found, next to the mouth of
San Bartolomeo river, containing the
message: “God must help the poor boy
Pietro who is here together with us,
the engines had a breakdown and it’s
impossible to sail. God forgive me for
the sad fate happened to us”.
The shipwreck of the fishing boat
“Santissimo Salvatore” of 35,61
tons really happened on November
16 th 1954 and caused the death
of the eight members of the crew:
Pietro Benzio (12 years old)and his
brother Antonio Benzio (21 years
old), Giuseppe Di Capua (34 years
old), Giuseppe Rossello (37 years old),
Salvatore Belnome (36 years old),
Pietro Scarcella (39 years old), Antonio
Ritondo (39 years old). The bottle
with the dramatic message had really
been found next to the mouth of San
Bartolomeo river on November 21 st at
6 o’clock p.m.
smeraldo era scomparsa tra le acque
con un sinuoso movimento.
Il naufragio del motopesca
“Santissimo Salvatore” di 35,61
tonnellate avvenuto nel 16 novembre
del 1954 causò la morte degli otto
membri dell’equipaggio: Pietro Benzio
(12 anni) e il fratello Antonio Benzio
(21 anni), Giuseppe Di Capua (34
anni), Giuseppe Rossello (37 anni),
Salvatore Belnome (36 anni), Leonardo
Buccellato (35 anni), Pietro Scarcella
(39 anni), Antonio Ritondo (39
anni). La bottiglia con il drammatico
messaggio venne realmente rinvenuta
presso il fiume San Bartolomeo il 21
novembre alle ore 18.00.
S ea C astle M agazine 23