The adventures of the Belem, the historic French crusing ship bringing the Olympic flame to France | EUROtoday

Issued on: 27/04/2024 – 06:42Modified: 27/04/2024 – 10:36

3 min

Between April 26 and May 8, the ship will sail the Mediterranean to convey the flame from Greece to Marseille, the beginning of the Olympic torch relay on French soil.

It’s honest to say that the duty of conveying the flame to France is just the most recent of the ship’s adventures over the previous 128 years. The Belem escaped catastrophe in 1902 throughout a large volcanic eruption whereas at anchor off Saint Pierre, Martinique. While approaching the port of Yokohama, Japan, in 1923, the ship once more averted the worst when an earthquake destroyed a lot of the town.

The Belem is a three-masted barque 58 metres lengthy and eight.8 metres large and carries 22 sails, the heaviest weighing 800 kg. Her predominant mast measures 34 metres above sea stage. Maximum pace is 9.2 knots, or 17 km/h.

The ship is presently crewed by 16 skilled sailors from the service provider navy and as much as 48 trainees – a mix of youth and expertise.

Ship’s captain Aymeric Gibet will supervise the 20 or so younger individuals who will likely be making the voyage to convey the flame to France.

“We are the first link in a collective adventure” that “will continue ashore”, Gibet instructed Presse Océan.

The ship, constructed within the port of Nantes in Brittany, was initially a service provider ship used to move cocoa, rum and sugar throughout the Atlantic from the Caribbean and Brazil.

The Belem was remodeled right into a luxurious yacht by the Duke of Winchester Hugh Grosvenor in 1914, and was acquired by the Irish brewer Arthur Guinness in 1921.

The ship was transformed right into a coaching vessel for service provider marine sailors within the Nineteen Fifties after turning into the property of Vittorio Cini, a Venetian rely.

The ship was returned to French possession due to the Caisses d’Epargne financial savings financial institution , which raised the funds for her buy. The Belem was returned to her residence port in Brittany in August 1979. Since 1980, the ship has been managed by the non-profit Belem basis.

In 1984, restored to her authentic situation, the Belem was formally categorized as a nationwide monument. As properly as serving as a sail coaching ship, she has made many voyages in a ceremonial capability: she was current on the centenary of the Statue of Liberty (1986), the four-hundredth anniversary of Quebec City (2008) and the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II (2012). The Belem was additionally current on the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

For its arrival in Marseille on May 8, the Belem will take pleasure in a powerful escort: a huge boat parade of as much as a thousand ships will accompany the three-master into port. As many as 150,000 individuals are anticipated to attend the ceremony within the metropolis’s Old Port.

After it completes its Olympic mission in Marseille, the Belem will name at 5 ports in France on the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.

The Olympic torch relay will final 68 days and can finish in Paris with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron throughout the opening ceremony on July 26.

Along its route, the flame will likely be carried by some 10,000 torchbearers, making stops at such iconic websites because the Lascaux caves, Mont Saint-Michel and the Loire castles, in addition to locations of remembrance such because the Verdun Memorial and the D-Day touchdown seashores to mark the eightieth anniversary of the Libération.

In June, the torch will likely be flown to the West Indies, French Guiana and the Kourou area heart, Réunion, Polynesia and New Caledonia.

The Olympic torch will return to metropolitan France to spend July 14 at Paris City Hall. After the opening ceremony alongside the Seine close to the Louvre the Olympic flame will likely be located within the neighbouring Tuileries gardens, a safety supply instructed AFP.

This article has been translated from the authentic in French.