The original Hermione frigate was built in eleven months in 1778 at Rochefort in the Charente Maritime, France by the shipwright Henri Chevillard and belonged to the French Navy. The ship became famous when she ferried General Lafayette to the United States in 1780 during the American war of Independence, to allow him to rejoin the American side and bring the secret news that reinforcements had been secured for the war. The Hermione then spent the next few years fighting battles against the British and was finally grounded and wrecked in 1793.
Twenty years ago a small group led by Erik Orsenna and by Benedict Donnelly discussed the idea of reconstructing an exact replica of the Hermione and to bring to life the voyage made by LaFayette in 1780 to re-affirm the historic relationship between the United States and France. Using line drawings stored in the British Admiralty of the Hermione's sister ship, La Concorde, after its capture, the plans were drawn and construction began in 1997. In the 18th century the ship yard in Rochefort would turn out ships like these in 6 months to a year. The Hermione project today has so far taken 20 years with the Hermione's first voyage taking her across the Atlantic in 2015.
We have been visiting the Hermione project in Rochefort for the last 10 of those 20 years and have watched the progress from inside and out. For many years the frigate was in dry dock. The tour consisted of viewing the work as it happened from the wood carvers, rope makers, ironmongers and ship building craftsmen recreating every last nail, cannon and sail using original techniques and original equipment. As far as possible no modern machinery has been used. You then walked around the outside of the ship as it was constructed. Now the ship is on water, you still get the tour of the works but you now also get to walk on the deck. If you plan ahead you can book the 'hard hat' tour which takes small groups into the ship itself and right down the steep steps to the very 'bowels' , a fascinating tour and we are so pleased we made the effort to participate on several occasions.
In 2013 the Hermione was launched out of dry dock, rigged and some of the sails fitted. All the sails have been hand sewn mainly by Anne Renault chief sail maker an incredible achievement considering the facts, for example the mizzen topsail, a square sail of the mizzen mast with a surface of 132m2 has 150 eyelets and 44 meters of bolt rope 3cm thick are all to be sewn by hand; the main topsail, a sail of 219 m2 on the main mast of the frigate has 260 eyelets and 60 meters of bolt rope to be sewn by hand - about three months of work just for 1 sail; there will be 17 sails in all ! There will also be 25km of rigging; some of the ropes are 108mm thick.
The work to launch her on the maiden voyage is in full flow. We visited most recently this week, for the first time since the ship was put into wet dock and the first time we had seen it since it was rigged. It is a wonderful sight.
For families there is a family ticket. There are factual boards along the route, giving you all the facts but the fun design and fun facts make it interesting for kids too. You can't take a buggy onto the deck but they are happy to let you leave it at the bottom of the ramp. There is a café, souvenir shop and toilets.
We also took my father who is now in a wheelchair. He was given the reduced rate for the disabled (as was my mum as his companion) despite not having the French disability card being a British holidaymaker. The wheelchair is not (like buggies) allowed on the deck but you get a good view all around the ship from the walkway around.
The visit costs 16€ for adults and 8€ for children. There are discounts for the elderly and disabled and for 'members' which involves a donation to the project. For a nautical fan like myself, it is well worth the money and all the proceeds go to the making of this fantastic piece of history.
This is a wonderful day trip out when staying at our family holiday cottages in the Charente Maritime region of France .
The site is open every day mid April to the beginning of September from 10 am to 7pm and throughout the winter months too, see the www.hermione.com
site for full details and to book tickets online. The tour inside the ship needs booking well in advance.
