The Star of the King of Saint-Malo

The Étoile du Roy is the replica privateer frigate in Saint-Malo . It was an English frigate from the 18th century, a 47 m long sailboat, and 800 m2 of sail area built in Turkey in 1997 for the needs of an English series, it was then named Grand Turk. She was bought by Bob Escoffier, navigator and owner at the time of the Etoile marine cruise in Saint Malo and renamed the Etoile du Roy . This proud three masted sailboat is the 3rd largest sailboat in France! It could contain 236 crewmen on board, armed with its 20 guns it weighed 310 tons! Currently a crew of 9 men is enough to operate the replica.

Its British builder, Michael Turk, descendant of a long line of shipowners, wanted to reproduce identically, the HMS Blandford, built in 1741, building of the fleet of the English admiral Horatio Nelson. He baptized the frigate, the Grand Turk. Coincidentally, or not, there was a Corsair ship of 260 tons present on the register of the Admiralty of Saint-Malo with the name, the Grand Turk . It would have been captured in 1745 by the English and resold in 1749.

Shipowner of Saint-Servan

Her owner was Anquetil, Sieur de la Brutiere and her captain, Robert Leturc, owner in the district of Saint-Servan.

The Etoile du Roy de Saint-Malo can be visited most of the year when it is docked in its home port of Saint Malo.

What is a frigate?

The first frigates appeared in the 16th century. Smaller than warships like ships, they were more maneuverable and served them more as an escort. The frigate, the Cardinale and the Royale , were the first warships, launched by the French Royal Navy in 1638. With a capacity of 400 tons, they were equipped with about twenty pieces of artillery.

Between the 17th and 19th centuries, frigates became veritable medium-sized warships equipped with a total of 40 guns. But keeping their size reduced, the frigates remain faster and more manoeuvrable, allowing them to have an overview of the battle especially, especially during battle line tactics while remaining safe from enemy fire. .

Between 1805 and 1846, the frigates reached a capacity of 500 men and 60 guns!

At the end of the 19th century (from about 1858 with the building of prototypes by the British and French navies), the armored frigate was a type of ironclad warship that was for some time the most popular type of ship. mighty afloat. The term “frigate” was used because these ships still mounted their main armaments on a single continuous upper deck. (What differentiates them from ships)

Other frigate replica:

The Hermione

The Hermione is a replica of the frigate L’Hermione, in service from 1779 to 1793. The construction site began in 1997. She was launched on the Charente without her rig for her first test in 2012. Her first sea trials were carried out in 2014.

Larger than the Étoile du Roy de Saint-Malo , the sailboat is over 65 m long, with three masts, and 2100 m2 of sail area. The original frigate required a crew of 255, while its current replica uses a crew of 80 sailors.

2000 oaks were needed for the design of the replica, 400,000 pieces of wood and metal in total, 22 guns of 12 from the battery deck (the unit of 12 corresponds to the caliber of cannonballs, of 12 pounds) and 6 guns of 6 on the forecastle deck. The barrels are not usable, (they are not drilled, they are only replicas, otherwise the replica of the  frigate would be reclassified as a warship).

The replica has been designed to meet the comfort and current standards, it is thus equipped with engines allowing it to maneuver in ports, according to French regulations, as well as all the equipment necessary for navigation in the 21st century, such as a GPS, an on-board computer, two washing machines and dryers as well as toilets, showers, 8 freezers and refrigerators.

She will make her first maiden voyage in 2015 to the United States. (in reference to the arrival of La Fayette in 1780 in Boston, who came to support General Washington in the war of independence against the English.)

Modern frigates:

Modern frigates will, from the 1970s, be equipped with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles, making ships specialized in anti-submarine and anti-aircraft warfare.

They can contain helicopters.