/ 
One last American stopover
After a 14 July spent in Castine, Maine, the Hermione set sail again on the night of 15-16 July to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. For 48 hours, the frigate was moored in the harbour near Halifax, Canada. It was a particularly flavourful port of call as it was the second last in North America. The last American leg will be French, since the ship will reach Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon on July 22, before returning to Brest.
On June 5, the Hermione arrived in Yorktown, the first stop on her American voyage. This was followed by Mount Vernon, Alexandria, Annapolis, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Greenport, Newport, Boston and Castine, where the crew received a warm welcome.
A very busy two-day stopover
So it was on 18 July that the replica of the frigate de La Fayette arrived in Lunenburg for a two-day stopover. Short, but intense, since the ship's crew had a full day's sailing "In just over 24 hours, we have indeed hosted several private events, carried out the last relief before the transatlantic with the landing of 28 gabiers and the arrival of 30 new volunteers." reports the Hermione's blog.
The handover is a special moment for the boat's crew, as it means leaving the friends who shared the adventure with you to discover others. "The effect is even more pronounced today, because these weeks of stopovers have gone by at breakneck speed and it's hard to believe we left France exactly 3 months ago." ...says on the blog. Besides the two gabiers, who make the whole trip, there is only one volunteer left, who left last April from Rochefort.
In Nova Scotia, Yann Cariou and his crew also took the opportunity to refuel, in order to make it all the way to Brest. "No less than eight pallets of fruit, vegetables, canned and frozen food were loaded in the early hours of Sunday morning. The game, as always, is then to get all these supplies into the lazarette, the fridges and the nets in battery packs. A sort of Tetris game with pineapple, meat and juice boxes..." reports the frigate's blog.
On 19 July at 2 p.m., the yacht set sail again for Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon. Facing the North Atlantic and its lows, of which the crew had a foretaste during the departure "performed in light rain with near-zero visibility."
A bit of history
The historic centre of Lunenburg has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995. The Hermione is a kind of homage to her ancestor, which the Hermione made by sailing in these waters. At the time, she had patrolled off Lunenburg, along the shores of the St. Lawrence, before the famous battle of Louisbourg in July 1781 alongside the Astrée, commanded by La Pérouse.
Photo credits : Jean Dominique Lamy / association
