I went to the town of Rochefort the other day.
It seems that during the
time of Louis XVI, Rochefort was a very important ship building town. You
can still see the dry docks where ships where made, and where one is
currently being made once again.
They are building a reproduction of the
ship the Marquis de LaFayette sailed on when he went to help the
Americans during the American revolution. Her name is the Hermione.
The
original ship Hermione sank because of poor maneuvers on the part of her crew,
but the plans for the ship are still around, so it is not too hard to
rebuild her. She is being built using the original techniques used to
build the first, 17th century vessel as much as possible.
You can go and visit her, the site
is also a museum. You can see the foundry where the metal fittings are
forged, and the work areas where the sails are sewn together, where the
wood is carved and shaped, and where the rope is made, fitted, and
covered in tar to prevent it from rotting. You can also take a tour of
the ship.
Unlike in the movies, the Herminone's wheel couldn't be turned by just
one man. It took anywhere from two or three in good weather, to 5 or 6
in stormy weather to turn the rudder.
The big red thing in the center of the picture is the winch used to
raise anchor. It took most of the crew- some 140 men- to raise anchor.
There are two of these winches, one fore, and one aft, 70 men were
needed to turn each one. It took about an hour to raise the anchor, and
there is a stop to lock the winch if the men needed to stop and take a
break. Raising the anchor was the only time the men were allowed to
insult the officers!
The Herminone's masts aren't made out of one whole, really tall tree.
Instead they are telescoping, made of several separate lengths attached
together. This makes possible to have taller masts-trees that tall and
straight just aren't all that thick on the ground- as well as making it
easier to repaire should the mast become damaged.
Next to the ship yards at Rochefort is the Corderie Royal, where rope
was made for the ships. It is one of the longest buildings in Europe,
because it needs to be long enough to accommodate the longest length of
rope made there!
Oh, and I found a four leaf clover! I'll be glad to take it along on my return trip home. Bon Voyage!
**Check back for the photos. Google has some issues :(
