Rebuilt 18th century ship tests French waters
Source: AP-EXCITE
By FRANCOIS MORI
PARIS (AP) — A reconstruction of the 213-foot (65-meter) frigate used by France's Marquis de Lafayette to bring reinforcements to American revolutionaries in 1780 has tested the waters for the first time.
The test run at high tide Sunday was a key step in an ambitious 17-year project aimed at sending the ship next year across the Atlantic, retracing Lafayette's journey and the foundation of French-American relations.
Maritime and history experts and aficionados have made rebuilding the Hermione a major project for the French port of Rochefort in southwest France.
Ship builders and researchers have painstakingly rebuilt the ship using the same construction materials and methods as those used to build the original, from the pulley systems to the massive oak hull.
FULL story at link.
The back of the three masts of the 213 feet long frigate Hermione whose hull is made entirely of oak, is pictured on the eve of its first test in the sea in Rochefort, Western France, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2014. Since 1997, in the old dockyard, a passionate team rebuilt the frigate Hermione, which, in 1780, allowed La Fayette to cross the Atlantic to America and join the American rebels in their struggle for independence. The Hermione Lafayette Trip project is aimed to cross the Atlantic in 2015.(AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140907/eu-france-us-revolution-ship-ddb839d697.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
Mayflower II is a replica of the 17th-century ship Mayflower, celebrated for transporting the Pilgrims to the New World. The replica was built in Devon, England, during 1955–1956, in a collaboration between Englishman Warwick Charlton and Plimoth Plantation, an American museum. The work drew from reconstructed ship blueprints held by the American museum with hand construction by English shipbuilders' using traditional methods. On April 20, 1957, recreating the original voyage, Mayflower II was sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, under the command of Alan Villiers. According to the ship's log, Mayflower II was towed up the East River into New York City on Monday, July 1, 1957. Afterwards, Villiers and crew received a ticker-tape parade in New York City.
Built at the Upham Shipyard in Brixham and financed by private donations in England and the Plymouth Plantation, the ship represented the alliance between the United Kingdom and the USA for collaboration in World War II. Within a few details (electric lights added and ladder replaced with a lower-deck staircase), the ship is considered a faithful replica, with solid oak timbers, tarred hemp rigging, and hand-coloured maps. The ship is 106 ft (32 m) long by 25 ft (7.6 m) wide, 236 tons displacement, 4 masts (mainmast, foremast, mizzen, sprit), and 6 sails.
The ship is seaworthy and sailed to Providence, Rhode Island in 2002. In December 2012 the Mayflower II was towed to dry dock at Fairhaven Shipyard in Fairhaven, Mass for Coast Guard inspection as well as repairs. The repairs took longer than originally planned because unexpected damage was discovered during the inspection. Repairs were eventually completed and the Mayflower II returned to her berth in Plymouth, Massachusetts on August 7, 2013.
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" We CAN return to the past. Yes, we can! More horses, more bayonets!"
HMS Victory is older, though.
