Tag Archives: La Corderie Royale

Cruising

What did we do in Rochefort?

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Before and After – Lin did a good job
click, if you really want to, to enlarge
What did we do in Rochefort?

Lin cut my hair!

I needed a haircut. Lin said, rather too eagerly, ‘I’ll do it.’ This would be a first in the 47 years since we started going out together. I said, ‘no.’ She said, ‘think of the savings.’ I said, ‘no.’ She said, ‘I did all our boy’s haircuts until they were 11.’ I said, ‘no’. Lin said, ‘trust me, I know what I’m doing.’ I said, ‘no,’ my voice showing annoyance at her persistence. Lin paused and said, ‘think of the wine you could buy with the savings.’ I said ‘Deal.’

Being old age pensioners, that was an acceptable compromise.

Lin said, ‘and now think how much you could have saved over the years.’ I didn’t respond.

The suspended gonloda of Rochefort’s Transbordeur travelling at 3m above the river’s surface
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Transbordeur

I walked the 6 mile round trip to the Rochefort Transbordeur, a 113 year old beam and suspended gondola arrangement for linking the road across the river Charentes. Amazing and wonderful and still working like a dream, although a bridge has now been constructed next to it for the bulk of the traffic.

Dinner out

Plagiarising a term from ‘Spy Games’, we had ‘dinner out’ at Café Cap Nell opposite the marina the day we arrived in Rochefort. The highlight for Lin was a salmon fillet, perfectly cooked, just off-rare in the middle. Succulent, juicy and non-fibrous. Mmmm.

For me, it was the goat’s cheese first course which had been made into a mousse with mascarpone and served on a thin bed of almost caramelised pears. Heavenly.

Café Cap Nell at Rochefort marina (left of centre)
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Yacht Raksha

We’d met Peter and Stefanie from Yacht Raksha in La Rochelle, so when they pulled in Rochefort we found ourselves having a couple of great evenings with them, eating and drinking too much, again – is there a pattern developing?

Peter and Stefanie are retiring, moving from the UK and looking to buy a house in the Dordogne, or Dordogne-shire, Britville, as it’s apparently becoming known.

Hermione and La Corderie Royale

As well as seeing the Hermione, we toured La Corderie Royale (the Royal Ropery), a long and narrow building created for making 300m ropes of every conceivable type and weave for vessels created at the Rochefort dockyard.

La Corderie Royale
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We borrowed a set of those ‘listen to it in English’ machines and heard the story from its royal concept to its destruction by fire, to its being rebuilt as a museum. Ropework demonstrations completed the tour. Really interesting.

Since it’s built on a marsh, its late 1700s foundations were made of a cris-cross of oaks at a depth of 1.5m. When it was rebuilt as a museum, the foundations were checked and found to be unmoved and perfect.

Splice the eyes

Lin attacked our 100m drum of new 16 strand octoplait, created two new warps, and spliced an eye into each. Not only are they perfect, but they attracted much comment from our neighbours, such as, ‘Can you do mine, next?’

I thought Lin would have jumped at this having been on about savings and old-age pensioners, but alas, she didn’t. Should I have mentioned how much wine we could have bought with the proceeds?

Lin spliced eyes into 16 strand multiplait
click to enlarge
Piers and Lin
from the Saloon of
Play d’eau
Fleming 55

You can get in touch with us any time by using our Contact Form.

Cruising

L’Hermione – a 26 cannon fast frigate

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L’Hermione in wet dock at Rochefort
click to enlarge
Lin and I visited L’Hermione yesterday, where she’s under construction in the Arsenal at Rochefort. She’s wondrous and beautiful and a magnificent work of art.

At 66m LOA, a beam of 11.24m, draft of 4.94m, and a displacement of 1,082 tonnes with her 26 cannons and ammunition, the three masted L’Hermione is a replica of the eighteenth century jewel of the French navy.

Used to fight the British

Commanded by Comte de La Touche-Tréville, L’Hermione was originally launched in 1779 at Rochefort’s naval dockyard. Here, the Marquis de La Fayette boarded L’Hermione in 1780 bound for the Americas in support of George Washington’s war of Independence against the British, taking the news that France would support Washington with 5,500 men and 5 frigates.

For two years, Lafayette served as a Major General directly under Washington whilst Vice Admiral Touche-Tréville in L’Hermione fought many naval battles against the British.

A 1/8th scale model was created to help understand the final look of L’Hermione
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During her final action against the British, L’Hermione ran aground off Croisic, France, due to ‘a simple navigational error’, where she was wrecked by heavy seas.

Er, Britain, can you help?

Having fought the British a twist of irony was to unfold 200 years later – L’Hermione’s replica needed help in two keys areas.

The original plans for L’Hermione had been lost. Britain was approached where records were found providing a sketch of L’Hermione’s original hull as well as plans for her sister ship. From these the replica has been ‘faithfully’ created.

L’Hermione’s figurehead needed to be proud, strong and worthy of gracing L’Hermione’s prow. Against local competition, a British sculptor, Andrew Peters from Oxford, UK, was chosen and commissioned to create the 3m tall lion.

Andrew Peters carved the 3m tall figurehead
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Interestingly, Lin and I had just had Play d’eau’s name plates re-made by Andrew when he told us of his new commission. Maybe we should have had a figurehead for Play d’eau? If so, of what?

Construction

20 years in construction in one of Rochefort’s wet docks, the cores of 4,000, 150 to 200 year old oak trees have been used in creating the main frame and structure.

Now in her final stages of fit-out, the 2,200 sq metres of sail are almost complete.

2015

L’Hermione’s scheduled for completion in 2015 when she’ll leave Rochefort for her transatlantic journey to the USA, following La Fayette’s original journey.

En route she will visit Las Palmas in the Canary Isles before crossing to Yorktown, New York, Boston and Halifax before returning to Rochefort where no doubt other great adventures await her.

Let’s hope she doesn’t make another ‘little navigational error’.

Piers and Lin
From the Saloon of
Play d’eau
Fleming 55

You can get in touch with us any time by using our Contact Form.

Detail of the 300kg Mizzen sail
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The sail loft where all L’Hermione’s sails are created
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The size and craftsmanship of the rigging is simply astounding
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Lin
took to the helm rather too naturally
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Andrew Peters is featured on a video of how he carved the figurehead
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Working on view to the public
this is the description of how
Andrew created the figurehead
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Anyone for cat’s cradle? The smell of tarred twine was everywhere
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L’Hermione, a beautiful replica of the 18th century fast frigate
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Now that’s an anchor rope!
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Cruising

Leg 11 – La Rochelle to Rochefort – 31 July 2013

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The fortified and walled city of La Rochelle
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We’ve had a great time in the Bassin des Chalutiers in the Vieux Port of La Rochelle.

One of our sons, his wife and two children came to meet us for a day; we explored the Maritime Museé and the town; we walked; we were hot; we used the air con many times, and we met Pat and Michelle who spend their life racing their Class 40 yacht, Croix du Sud, all over the world – literally (see photo below).

The nav plan

There were two pinch points on this journey.

Rochefort is some 12nm up the River Charente and we’d been advised the lock gate to the marina would only be open between 1300 and 1400. If we missed it, we’d have to wait until the next day to gain access.

The 3500 berth Les Minimes marina at La Rochelle
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Back at the Bassin des Chalutiers, the exit lock gate wouldn’t open until 1130 leaving us with a maximum of two and a half hours for the journey, in turn demanding an average speed of 12 knots. Too fast as far as I’m concerned, and even if we travelled at this speed there’d be no margin to play with.

Instead, we took the 2215 lock gate yesterday evening from the Bassin des Chalutiers and motored all of 1nm to Les Minimes marina. Given Les Minimes has 24hr access we could leave at our leisure for Rochefort, today.

The Journey

Having had strong W’ly winds for the last few days with the occasional rain and thunder shower, today was different. Hot, clear skies, with only a light E’ly wind. Perfect.

Passing Fort Boyard, we entered the Charente river an hour or so before high tide expecting the flood tide to give us an extra knot. Interestingly, the tide was against us yet in the last mile it changed and the river was still on the flood.

Fort Boyard between Ile d’Aix and Ile d’Oléron
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Crazy – or am I missing something? Yes, I checked high tide with the Capitainerie and there was no mistake.

Arriving

The Charente river is lovely although an avocado green of mud in suspension. We followed the many leading marks passing strange fishing huts on stilts with large nets. Anyone know what these are for?

An astonishing piece of engineering is Le Pont Transbordeur, which suspends a cabin just above water height taking people and cars from one side of the river to the other, linking the road.

We were met by the Harbour Master in his dory and shown to a good berth. By gum, the marina’s a sun trap measuring well into the mid-30 degrees C.

There are many of these huts on stilts with huge nets along the river Charente
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Can’t wait to explore the town and tour the Hermione which we saw close to the marina – it’s on tomorrow’s agenda.

The tecky details

Departed Les Minimes, La Rochelle – 0720
Arrived Rochefort – 1322
Planned distance – 25nm
Longest leg – 12.9nm up the River Charente
Tech issues – nil

Piers and Lin
From the Nav table of
Play d’eau
Fleming 55

You can get in touch with us any time by using our Contact Form.

The 113 year old Le Pont Transbordeur
links the road on either side of the Charante
with a suspended ‘flying cabin’.
You can see the cabin close to the water
at the base of the left leg
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The Transbordeur cabin started its crossing after we’d passed.
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Pat and Michelle on Croix du Sud.
Having raced nearly every yacht race there is (including the Sydney-Hobart ‘many times’)
their next race is the non-stop Le Havre-Brazil.
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