Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

The Hermione

This is a photo taken from inside the Armory at Rochefort. You can see progress being made on reconstructing the French frigate Hermione that was Lafayette’s flagship.

You can see the archway in the background and along the dry-dock are white tents where work is being done by master craftsmen, to shape the beams and fashion all the accrutraments. Tourists were allowed to go aboard and watch the construction in progress. As a ship modeler this was a wonderful and unexpected experience that we just walked into.

Sails were being made, fittings cast, ropes prepared and a myriad of other activities associated with shipbuilding of old.

The dry-dock is a fascinating engineering marvel. When the tide comes in the doors are swung open and the dock fills. Then the doors are closed allowing the dock to seal in the water. This is done without recourse to the electric pumps that serve most dry-docks.