A replica of the 18th-century ship that took a French general on his voyage to become a hero of the US war of independence set sail again on Saturday, cheered off by thousands of well-wishers and French President Francois Hollande.
Thousands gathered to wish bon voyage to the painstakingly recreated tall ship Hermione leaving from Ile d’Aix in southwest France for the east coast of the US. The French and US flags were raised on the wooden frigate as it embarked on an Atlantic crossing retracing the voyage 235 years ago of General Lafayette, who won fame for rallying America’s rebels fighting for independence from Britain.
“The Hermione is a glorious page of our history ... thus was sealed one of the finest alliances, a fraternal alliance,” Hollande said ahead of the vessel’s departure, followed by a rendition of the US national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner.
US consul in Bordeaux Thomas Wolf read out a statement in French from US President Barack Obama in which the American leader spoke of the “unwavering friendship and solidarity between the two countries.”
“The tribute we are paying today to the extraordinary efforts by General Lafayette and the French people in favor of the American Revolution reminds us that our partnership with France has made it the oldest ally of our nation,” the statement said.
After a fireworks display, the ship’s crew set off in the rain at 8:45pm, with a first stop due in the Canary Islands before continuing on their 13,000km journey that should take them about six weeks.
About 80 crew members are to sail the three-masted, 65m ship along the route to Boston made by French General Gilbert du Motier — the Marquis de Lafayette — to bolster revolutionaries fighting for an independent US.
In 1778, the original Hermione took a mere six months to build. The replica took 17 years to construct, mobilizing hundreds of craftspeople from around the world.
The crew plans to make landfall on June 5 in Yorktown, Virginia, where US troops led by George Washington, who later became the first US president, and French soldiers accompanied by General Lafayette scored a decisive victory over the British in 1781.
“The Hermione, the ship that reunited Lafayette and Washington and sealed our freedom, sails again for America,” the Web site promoting the reconstruction of the epic journey says.
The project is the brainchild of a group of history and sailing enthusiasts who two decades ago embarked on the arduous task of recreating the vessel using only 18th century shipbuilding techniques.
The frigate is scheduled to make more than 10 stops in the US as it sails up the east coast, including in Baltimore, Maryland; Philadelphia and Boston.
Hermione will also sail into New York Harbor just in time for July 4 US Independence Day celebrations, with an expected escort of hundreds of local yachts.
Yann Cariou, a veteran sailor who has already completed seven round-the-world trips in the military and civilian navy, captains the imposing ship.
The project cost 25 million euros (US$32 million), financed by more than 4 million visitors to the shipyard in Rochefort in southwestern France where the ship was built, as well as through crowd-funding initiatives for specific parts of the ship.
It took Lafayette 38 days to cross the Atlantic, a voyage that confirmed his renown as a hero of the American Revolution.
Even today, Lafayette remains a constant presence across the country that he helped transform from a British colony into the energetic new state that would eventually become the superpower of modern times.
At least 42 US counties and cities, and hundreds of streets and squares — including the famed Lafayette Square opposite the White House — are named after him or after his ancestral home in France, La Grange.
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