Defending values of tolerance and diversity
Here we go again! The Hermione - a replica of Lafayette's frigate - which had unleashed the crowds in 2015 for its launch and its great American sailing campaign is back on track! This Tuesday, January 30, she left her home port of Rochefort for a new great navigation in the Mediterranean this time. A new four-month trip under the sign of youth and the French-speaking world.
The Hermione-La Fayette Association and the International Organization of the Francophonie (IOF) have partnered to implement this trip named: "Free together from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean." A trip that is part of the citizen movement of Francophone youth launched in 2016 by the IOF.
"To approach the Mediterranean, a cultural melting pot and a theater of so many issues and fractures, the ship will therefore stand under the banners of freedom, peace, respect and diversity. Its multicultural crew will defend, by example, a certain idea of what tomorrow's world could be: open, united, mixed and tolerant says the association.
A multicultural crew
Among the 350 sailors, a hundred people from 34 countries have been selected by the IOF to join the crew. They are students, artists, workers, urban or rural and come from Gabon, Vietnam, Senegal or Canada.
"These new troops enrich the spirit of the Hermione: it is now the world that invites itself on board and learns to live and work together. What better proof that it is possible to get along across differences in culture, gender and religion?" says a delighted Commander Cariou, who welcomed and trained these new recruits.
Gérald Boussougou, 30 years old, a computer graphics designer in his country, Gabon, says: " It is as if we have known each other forever. The welcome is warm and the other sailors very nice. The tier leaders, the commander and the other volunteers are always ready and available to show us the workings of this masterpiece that is the Hermione. I hope to live up to this marine adventure and be an ambassador for the values the frigate carries."
Former gabiers who re-embark
Some of the gabiers who were present on the first trip in 2015 will be back again. If the first time, they didn't know much about it, for this 2nd campaign, they will feel like at home. This is the case of Alice Bru, present since 2014.
"This experience changed my life and not only because I now know what a lacrosse is! It gave me so much, especially from the point of view of living together and diversity. It's just proof that when people want it to go well, it does. To be in mixed positions or to be from all kinds of backgrounds, there is no problem. And that attitude could apply to so many things outside of Hermione, as long as everyone understands that!"
For its first voyage, the Hermione embodied a symbol: when you believe in something, you can achieve it. In 2015, 300 young people from all walks of life, most of whom had never sailed before, learned together about conviviality, mutual aid and sharing. Strong values that the association wishes to share again.
A first technical stopover
This stopover in La Rochelle will be an opportunity for the association to finish outfitting the Hermione before the big departure, as Bruno Gravellier, vice-president of the L'Hermione-La Fayette association and 2018 sailing member, explains.
"Having not sailed for nearly 18 months, the boat required a thorough review, which is essential in the preparation of a long-distance voyage. A large number of its elements had to be dismantled s for overhaul or maintenance, and not all of them could be put back in place in Rochefort: too high to allow the passage of the frigate under the Charente Viaduct, the upper masts, in particular, will only be raised in La Rochelle. On February 21, the Hermione will be ready to face the Bay of Biscay and its fearsome westerly winds: the crew is already complete, and the cities of call are constantly competing with each other in their proposals for events... It is therefore with great enthusiasm that we approach this 2018 adventure."
2018 Travel Program
Departure from ROCHEFORT : January 30th
LA ROCHELLE : February 1st to 20th
TANGER: March 9 to 13
BARCELONA: March 24
SÈTE : March 27 to April 2
TOULON : April 5 to 9
LA CIOTAT : April 10th
MARSEILLES : April 12 to 16
PORT VENDRES : April 20 to 22
NICE : April 25
BASTIA : April 27 to 29
PORTIMAO (Portugal): May 9 to 10
PASAIA (Spain): May 18 to 21
BORDEAUX :June 10 to 13
Return to ROCHEFORT : June 16
At each stopover, the Hermione will be open to visitors.
