The three-master “Le Français” makes a stopover in Rouen, a taste of the Armada 2023
Departing from its home port in Saint-Malo, on Thursday December 30 at 6.15 am, the three-masted polar “Le Français” appeared like a mirage at the exit of the loop of the Seine at Caudebec-en-Caux (Seine -Maritime), all sails out. Jean-Marc Vintrin, the downstream major pilot, disembarked from the pilot boat. His objective was to assist the captain “on very narrow and shallow navigable waters, therefore something quite delicate”, and to lead safely to Rouen where he was eagerly awaited.
In fact, until February 4, the public will be able to board every weekend in January from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 4.30 p.m., free of charge, at the quai d’honneur Jean Ango on the right bank. Schoolchildren from the Rouen Normandy Metropolis, the region and even Île-de-France will be able to discover a photographic exhibition dedicated to the explorer Jean-Baptiste Charcot in 1904 in Antarctica as well as participate in immersive awareness-raising workshops linked to the protection of the ocean environment, the theme chosen for the next Armada Rouen 2023.
To the engine and the force of the wind
It was first necessary to bring up the river at 46.60 m long and 2,895.60 m2 of sails of the tall ship built in 1948 in Denmark. For his pure pleasure, Jean-Marc Vintrin took the helm at 8:30 am. The bow split the black waters and caused schools of birds to fly in its path. At night, on the banks, only a few houses, villages and industries are illuminated. It was a short-lived calm, because as soon as the town of Duclair passed, at dawn, the first honking, arrests and salutes multiplied.
This region really has sailing in its heart and each passage of an old rig unleashes passions: “It’s a real pleasure. Like French is a small machine, we try to use the motors and the force of the wind to go as fast as possible. But, we will not exceed six knots. So people have time to see us, ”appreciates the one who is also the Armada referent. “I prepare the files of the guest ships. “Seven hours later, the Flaubert Bridge in Rouen in sight,” Le Français “docked a few hundred meters downstream, because” he will wait for the lift bridge to be assembled. He will thus be able to reach the Jean Ango pontoon. He goes there for a month ”.
Launched under the name of kaskelot, the three-masted barque was used among other things as a fishing boat in the 1960s. After more than 50 years sailing the seas, she was bought in 2018 by the sailor Bob Escoffier. 55,000 hours of work will restore it. Named “Le Français” in homage to the ship of Charcot’s first expedition. Since then, it has been a partner of the Polar School, “the endowment fund which aims to make young school children discover the beauty and fragility of the poles”, as the site lefrancaistemoindespoles.fr indicates.
While his stopover in Rouen was planned, it is in this context that Jean-Paul Rivière, the president of the Armada Rouen 2023 “wanted to mark our desire to place the next edition of the great gathering under the sign of the protection of the oceans. . As both a fluvial and maritime land, it seems obvious to us that Normandy, through the Armada of Rouen, carries, at a time of no less obvious climate emergency, the protection of the oceans in its DNA ”.
A 2023 edition which is preparing, however, with some concerns regarding the health context: “It’s a foretaste while waiting for the official launch which will take place in June with the arrival of another sailboat whose name we do not yet know for remind the community that an event of international renown will take place. We do not yet know the number of sailboats present in 2023. We have not yet returned. It must be said that with the current health situation, we will have a very short preparation ”specific Jean-Marc Vintrin.
2022, towards the poles
For the moment, the members of the crew of the “French” will take turns to receive visitors. Then, from February 5, they will return to sea to join a Breton shipyard for three months of work including the replacement of the three carrying masts and the cleaning of the hull with volunteers. Then, the tall ship will take the direction of “Greenland, or Spitzbert, a Norwegian island, between the Barents Sea and that of Greenland.” A polar expedition to the coasts, in the footsteps of the illustrious Charcot. About fifteen men and women will embark: crew members, scientists, videographer, and why not, a writer ”according to information from our colleague Ouest-France on July 3, 2020.