Photos: Hermione's triumphant return
France's replica 18th century frigate is in Brest this week - and Connexion was there to welcome her back
THOUSANDS of spectators turned out to get a glimpse of Hermione, France's replica 18th century frigate, as she returned from a four-month cross-Atlantic voyage to the US and back.
Connexion reporter Jane Hanks, who was among the crowd gathered in Brest, Brittany, says: "She entered Brest harbour in full sail surrounded by a massive flotilla of yachts.
"She fired off her cannons, boats sounded their horns, and a tug set up an impressive three jet water spray as she made her way into dock.
"Up aloft in the rigging were many of the 80 strong crew, 54 of them young volunteers who had just experienced the adventure of their life, riding high after a sometimes rocky ride across rough seas.
"The throngs of spectators who lined the quays could only marvel at the way the sailors went up and down the rigging and how perilously high up they were at the top of the masts.
"What impressed myself and other visitors was the beauty of this great boat on the water and the achievement of sailing it for thousands of miles across the ocean, reminding us of the audacity of the sailors who took the French aristocrat, La Fayette to America more than 200 years ago in the original frigate to support the Americans in their fight for independence against the British."
The ship will stay in Brest until August 17 before spending time in Bordeaux ahead of a return to Rochefort in Charente-Maritime where she was built.
More than 5,000 tickets have already been sold to visit the ship this week.
