At the end of 1992, on the initiative of some members of the International Center of the Sea (Centre International de la Mer) the maritim cultural center, settled in the historical XVIIth century monument “Corderie Royale”, royal rope factory, and with the support of several elected representatives of the City of Rochefort, the Hermione-La Fayette association was born.

For almost 5 years, these few passionate people are going to work in order to help the project of the reconstruction of the Hermione to become real. In 1996, the association, until then only constituted by its founders, opened its doors to “supporting members,” who represent over 4 000 people today.

Several steps were carried out simultaneously : research for the historical sources and the reconstitution of the original ship plans, fund-raising work, and the launch of a call for tender to identify and find a builder...

At the head of the Association Hermione-La Fayette, the ship owner, a team of passionate volunteers work on the realization of this huge heritage construction. They are gathered within a Board of directors.

Erik Orsenna, writer - President-founder of the Hermione-La Fayette Association. Since 1991, he is also the president of the “Corderie Royale” - international Center of the Sea (Centre International de la Mer), maritim cultural center, partner of the Association Hermione-La Fayette on the Hermione project.

Benedict Donnelly : President of the Hermione-La Fayette Association since 1994. The son of an American citizen who participated during world war II in Normandy for the D-Day landing, Benedict Donnelly is all the more sensitive to the values carried through the Hermione project.

Raymond Labbé : From the beginning of the project to his death at the end of 2005, Raymond Labbé, a “malouin” – i.e. from the Breton harbour of Saint Malo -- shipwright and technical adviser from the Ministry of Culture for marine heritage department was the technical adviser of the association. His enormous knowledge of wood shipbuilding and his experience of the French naval heritage strongly contributed to the implementation of the project. Today, Gérard Bernard, a retired shipwright specialized in wooden boats, brings his skills and his vast knowledge of this type of construction to the companies in charge of the construction of the frigate. It is the construction site which recently restored the "Fleur de Lampaul," a wooden ship owned by the Fondation Nicolas Hulot and he is in charge of the restoration of "Marité", another famous historical ship.

Since the beginning of the project, the municipality of Rochefort has also brought, a very active support.

Emmanuel de Fontainieu, the director of the “Corderie Royale” in Rochefort occupies the job of secretary of the Association. He is also the person in charge of the animation policy. We must also mention Jean-François Fountaine, the Chief Executive Officer of the Fountaine-Pajot shipyard, Alain Bourdeaux, the Vice-president (Lawyer), Bernard Grasset, the mayor of the town, Olivier Pagezy (financial director), Jacques Delpech, treasurer-assistant (a retired banker), Jean-Louis Frot, the former mayor of Rochefort, Francis Latreille (a photographer) and and all those who voluntarily bring their skills at the service of the Association, to make this dream come true.

In Rochefort, a team of 8 employees, the daily management of the association of which 4 full-time people are in charge of coordination, administrative and financial follow-up, management of the memberships, communication, press relations, public relations, relations with the partners, management of the gift shop,etc....

Project manager

From the beginning of the project Hermione, the Research Center for Nautical Architecture and Industry, located in La Rochelle and led by Philippe Pallu de la Barrière directed the preliminary studies and designed the first blueprints. He led an analysis of the behaviour of the Hermione at sea and of its stability, notably through computer simulation. Since June 2003, Naval Architect Guy Ribadeau Dumas has been heading the management of the construction project and the follow-up of the construction site. For a few months, the association has also benefited from the skills of Laurent Da Rold, a new participant taken on board as project manager, in charge of the supervision of the whole construction, and the phases of the different works until the end of the construction.

After a request for proposals in 1995, the association Hermione-La Fayette chose the Asselin company for the construction of Hermione’s frame. Located in Thouars, in the department of Deux-Sèvres, Asselin was originally specialized in the restoration of historical monuments. The company’s skills in woodwork, the know-how of its teams strengthened with marine carpenters, allow for high-quality results.

At the head of the company, young and dynamic CEO François Asselin conducts a team of impassioned people. Joël Berthelot is responsible for wood supplying; Jacques Haie is the construction site’s chief. Until 2006, when he retired, Jean Thomas has greatly contributed as a modeller and a historian. Eight other carpenters have completed the team. Young people in training or integration courses have also joined this group.

In summer 2000, a blacksmith’s workshop was set up on Hermione’s construction site. The company AMI of Rochefort, specialized in boiler manufacturing which changed its name for Metalnéo in 2005, is responsible for the management of this workshop.

Since July 2004, the company Alexandre Genoud Bateaux Bois, has led a framework and woodwork workshop making all the parts other than the body, linked to the ship (embarked dinghes, cannon carriages, intermediary platforms of the top of the mast…)

In the course of this work in progress, new companies coming from other building trades or lines of business, offering others skills, will regularly have to operate in this project.

Welcoming the visitors

The association Hermione-La Fayette was helped by the expert team of the International Center of the Sea for the welcoming of the visitors on the construction site and the discover of the Hermione project throught guided tours for individuals or groups. Visit the construction site