Someone here in France decided that it would be a great idea to build a replica of Lafayette's ship, The Hermione". And to build it using the same techniques and materials that were available to ship builders some 250 years ago. Thus began the story of the "Hermione". The construction was begun in 1997. Fast forward. 17 years and the project, that was supposed to take 6 years, was completed in 2014 with tests of it's sea worthiness. Then, on April 18th, 2015 it sailed for the States. It spent nearly six weeks sailing up the eastern coast of the USA.
If you remember it sailed in to Boston Harbor, New York, and several cities in Virginia with great fanfare. It was in the States until mid July 2015 and sailed back to Rochefort,arriving on August 29th 2015. It is still in Rochefort, where the original was built and the replica as well. And of course you can board it for a fee. They have also constructed, just a few feet away, a similar looking model of the Hermione that you can climb on. Visitors can use a zip line, climb the masts, and repel across the top of the "ship'. Needless to say, the Hermione, and the climbing model are huge tourist attractions.
The Hermione will be in Rochefort until the end of 2017. I wonder which town will get it next?
UPDATE:
It will cruise the Mediterranean next spring and then return in June 2018 to Rochefort.
