The stopover lasted only 3 days for the Hermione in Port-Vendres, but it was magical for the crew as well as for the small port in the Pyrénées-Orientales with 4,500 inhabitants... Indeed, the public came in large numbers to greet the frigate, even waiting several hours to be able to get on board. 8,000 visitors crowded the frigate's deck in 2 and a half days of visits and 50,000 people walked along the city's quays... A high mass for this small town that had not skimped on the entertainment... The whole town and the shops were all decked out in the frigate's colours!
Visitors came from all over the region, as confirmed by the town's Tourist Office. Already, during the Marseille port of call, one call out of two concerned the frigate... But in this small port, the team had to do the 3x8: " The Hermione was receiving 300 calls a day, and more than 1,000 people at the office during the stopover. 70% of the visitors came from Occitania, if not many from Toulouse and the Aude. We also saw people from Creuse! Hotels and accommodation were fully booked and shopkeepers worked as they did in August" was congratulated at the tourist office.
A popular success therefore for all! And a superb organisation in Port-Vendres, as Commander Cariou pointed out, at the helm of the Hermione" The welcome at sea was better than in New York! The whole city was revolving around the Hermione, people were patient, kind and extremely benevolent towards us. It's very nice to be the center of attention, without excess and in all simplicity."
The replica of the La Fayette vessel has now set sail again this Sunday 22nd April at 6 pm, in a very light southerly wind, towards Nice, where she is expected on 25th April for a short one-day stopover. She will then sail to Corsica and Bastia from 27 to 29 April.
