Supplies of cognac have been loaded onto the vessel using strictly traditional methods...

[Surya Gayatri]

Last edited Sat Apr 18, 2015, 11:08 AM - Edit history (1)

Well, thank god for that. I was afraid they might have to sail completely sober!


Many of the replica vessel's 54 volunteers had never before been out at sea

This is the Hermione, faithful replica of the original French ship of that name, and the fruit of 20 years' devotion, ingenuity and sheer hard graft.

For it was the Hermione that in 1780 carried to Boston a young French aristocrat - Gilbert du Motier the Marquis de Lafayette - who more than 200 years later still wears the mantle of America's BFF: Best French Friend. Ever.


It is hoped that the new Hermione will play a role in reviving some of France's neglected maritime traditions

Completed in 1779 at the port of Rochefort, the Hermione (the French pronounce it Air-mee-on) was the pride of the French navy. She was small (216ft [65m] and 34 guns) but she was sleek and very fast.

In 1783 the English captured the Hermione's sister ship, the Concorde. Before putting her back to war under the Union Jack, they conducted a thorough study - to work out how she sailed so briskly.

Those plans were kept at naval headquarters in Greenwich - and two centuries later formed the basis for the Hermione recreation!

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32350305

___________________

Who knew? The Brits had a hand in her resurrection as well!

[MADem]

1. That is one sweet looking vessel! Oh, and the ship looks cool, too....

[Surya Gayatri]

2. Oh, you...!

She's really something. I wanna go, too!

[onehandle]

3. If not for the French Navy, we'd still be under the thumb of King George. nt

[Surya Gayatri]

4. We owe them a lot, but so many 'Murcans don't even know.

[eppur_se_muova]

5. And it cost France dearly ...

During the war, France shouldered a financial burden similar to that of Great Britain, as debt from the American Revolutionary War was piled upon already existing debts from the Seven Years' War. The French spent 1.3 billion livres on war costs. When the war ended, France had accumulated a debt of 3,315.1 million livres,[19] a fortune at the time.

The debt caused major economic and political problems for France, and, as the country struggled to pay its debts, eventually led to the Financial Crisis of 1786[20] and the French Revolution in 1789.[21]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_costs_of_the_American_Revolutionary_War#France

[malthaussen]

6. Well, that's one way to look at it.

Another way to look at it is that Sir Thomas Graves was a nincompoop, since the Royal Navy won decisively a few years later at the Saintes, under different leaders. And it is worth noting that some of the best minds in Britain thought the Caribbean sugar islands to be more valuable property than the American colonies, in which they were right short-term. Nobody in the 18th century had the vision to forsee the US's unprecedented conquest of the entire continent.

Which is not to undervalue the contribution made by the French, who spent most of the 18th century trying to defeat Britain and ultimately failed. The US is quite fortunate that our Revolution was a useful gambit in the struggle for European hegemony. But while Lafayette may have been somewhat of a radical Progressive (he commanded the National Guard in the French Revolution, after all), most of his fellow aristocrats didn't give a fig for Liberte, Egalite, and Fraternite. It's kind of interesting that we largely owe our Republic to the success of one bunch of royalists against another bunch of royalists.

-- Mal

[malthaussen]

7. Elizabeth II, surely. n/t

[Hassin Bin Sober]

8. No. It was the warning shots and bells that defeated the British.

https://m.

[Glassunion]

39. I think he'd be dead by now.

Just sayin'

[malthaussen]

9. Many British ship designs were based on French prototypes

The French would come out with a fine frigate design, then the British would capture one of the ships and say "Damn, this is better than anything we have going right now," and copy it. If the French navy had fought as sucessfully as their naval architects designed ships, the history of Europe (and the world) from about 1750-1820 would have been very different.

-- Mal

[Surya Gayatri]

11. And so it goes, even today. The French are second to none in

basic research and development. Brilliant minds with top-notch science and math backgrounds.

Marketing and sales? Not so much.

The British doing 'industrial espionage' just sounds like business as usual.

Not for nothing do the French call them 'Perfidious Albion'.

[malthaussen]

10. Somehow, I doubt their following of tradition will extend to discipline.

"Rum, buggary and the lash" was pretty widespread in everyone's navy.

Interesting that they are using a crew of 54. Much less crowded than it would have been with upwards of 300 on board. And frigates were roomy compared to ships of the line.

-- Mal

[Surya Gayatri]

12. There's a great interview with the skipper on France 24,

where he says that that was one of the big challenges.

Asking 54 untested volunteers to do the same job as 300 old salts, pas evident !

He says the modern seadogs couldn't hold a candle to their French forerunners.

[malthaussen]

13. He's probably right, although...

... one notes there is really no way he could know. I am a bit of a student of the 18th century First World War (although a degenerate Anglophile, me), and I do think the volunteers would suffer a bit of a culture shock if they were actually transported back to the period, rather than making a pleasure cruise. But they'll have their work cut out for them anyway, the sail plan of a frigate is pretty damned complex.

-- Mal

[Surya Gayatri]

14. 'Learning the ropes'...it's not just a casual expression!

[malthaussen]

15. "A few concessions to modernity"

"But below decks they have managed to cram in sleeping space for 70 (hammocks of course) plus kitchens, showers, storage areas, captain's cabin, sail-room, engine room and other facilities."

Showers? And, no doubt, toilets? (You may be aware that the word "head," used in the US Navy for the toilet, is a reference to the cathead of a sailing ship, to which the common sailor clung in all weathers to eliminate. Officers had chamber pots.) Ah, it is so much easier for the sailorman nowadays.

-- Mal

[Surya Gayatri]

16. The below-decks stench back in the day was the stuff of legend! LOL!

[malthaussen]

17. On a technical note, I wonder what they did about the cannon.

Somehow, I doubt they cast 12-pounders to fit into those gun-carriages, but if they simply added ballast to account for a couple hundred tons of guns, the ship's sailing qualities will be somewhat different. Still, I'd like to be along for the ride, although definitely not as a topman, since I am plagued with acrophobia.

26 million euros the thing cost. There must have been a LOT of wastage, since Michael Turk built The Grand Turk in 1997 for "only" two million pounds.

Considering the US frigates Constitution and United States cost about $300,000 each (and they were much larger than Hermione), there is a lot more than inflation included in that price tag.

-- Mal

[Surya Gayatri]

18. Modern navigation and safety equipment?

[malthaussen]

21. Modern electronics would certainly inflate it, yeah.

And those amenities already spoken of. Still, seems like there was a little "graft" involved in the construction, as the article says. (Unintentional irony is always nice)

-- Mal

[Surya Gayatri]

23. Bien vu ! Good catch!

[-none]

31. Looking at the picture in the OP, it is too calm for those few yards of sail to be doing much.

There has to be an engine driven screw pushing it along. Look at the wake.

Edited to add:
I was correct. My time in the Navy wasn't all wasted.
"An engine will be used for safety, and electric generators for lighting and basic amenities."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Hermione_%282012%29

[malthaussen]

32. Yes, the article mentions that an engine is required due to safety regs.

No chance of this girl being becalmed for weeks while the crew goes mad from thirst. Dang modern times anyway.

-- Mal

[-none]

36. Yeah, I shoulda read the provided link more better.

[treestar]

37. Yes and also the weather

will be watched so as to avoid any storms that develop.

[malthaussen]

38. Those volunteers would not be happy going aloft in a Force 8.

Then again, I doubt their ancestors were, either!

-- Mal

[freshwest]

19. We need more of the spirit of "liberty, equality, fraternity" here in the USA. Love this pic best:

But all the pictures are beautiful. What an excellent OP.

Loved the "America's BFF: Best French Friend. Ever." reference made there, too!

[Surya Gayatri]

20. Glad you enjoyed it, freshwest. I had fun putting it together!

[malthaussen]

22. Y'know, I believe there are females in that pic...

... or else at least one vounteer has decided to sport an 18th-century queue.

-- Mal

[DonnaM]

24. Is that "Hennessy" stamped on the bottom of the barrel?

Irish cognac?

[Surya Gayatri]

26. It certainly is...one of the finest names in French cognac! LOL!

http://www.cognatheque.com/fr/4_hennessy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hennessy

Welcome to DU, DonnaM!

[DonnaM]

28. Thank you :)

And very interesting read on Wiki!

[Hiraeth]

25. Very cool. Thanks for posting this. She is a beauty.

?

[Surya Gayatri]

27. You're welcome. I was so impressed I wanted to share her. LOL!

What a gorgeous lady!

[malthaussen]

35. War machines are often beautiful, which is irony if you like.

Ships, aircraft... it seems it is easy to couple efficient and deadly design with beauty. All frigates are pretty, but the smaller and lighter ones more so than the big ones. But I better not fat-shame ships.

-- Mal

[hifiguy]

29. Avast, mates, we be sailin' the high seas!

Gorgeous ship.

[Surya Gayatri]

30. Makes ya want to take to the bounding main!

[treestar]

33. Left today

Hope there will be a way to follow it!

[Surya Gayatri]

34. They have GPS of course, so somewhere we should be able to follow her in real time.