Tonnerres de Brest - Farmers and fishermen out in force

by RivaCom on 17 Jul 2012 The Tonnerres de Brest, a summer festival of sailing ships, is being held from 13th to 19th July 2012. Today, Monday 16th July, was a thrill to the senses with Norway today's guest nation and Brittany's farmers and fishermen honoured on Brest's docks.

For Norway this event has really become a tradition since the countries of Scandinavia haven't missed a single edition of the maritime festival since the event began back in 1992. Clad in their finest Bunads, the traditional Norwegian costume, the nation provided visitors with a very warm welcome throughout the day. The Breton farmers meantime, also had plenty to lure visitors to the Terres et Mers de Bretagne' village, where they'd concocted a special programme around star chefs, tastings of local products, famous protagonists from the world of TV, sailing and cuisine, photo exhibitions and traditional fishing boats, the latter tacking about the port with the Norwegian fleet giving Brest a taste of the North Sea.

Our Norwegian friends have pulled off the challenge they set themselves four years ago: to bring us at least 20 boats for our 20th anniversary of the Tonnerres de Brest! The MS Sjøkurs, 85m, an old ferry from 1956 (in the commercial port), the Statsraad Lehmkuhl, 98m, one of the most beautiful three-masters in the world, the Halsnøy, a copy of a craft from the year 200, Gaia, a superb replica of a drakkar (which will be joined by the Dreknor, a replica 'sistership' from Cherbourg), the Vaaghals, reconstruction of a Renaissance boat found in Oslo, the Ragnvald Jarl which was part of the fleet of 'Express Coastal boats', the Folkvang, a Grovfjord cutter, in the far North, which is 101 years old, the RS 10 Christiania, an old lifeboat from 1895 designed by Colin Archer, Kamalie af Lister, a replica of a pilot boat designed by Colin Archer; Enigheten, a replica of a boat linked to the history of the Norwegian Constitution 1814 and Havørn, a White Sea yacht inspired by Roald Amundsen's Fram. There are also a dozen traditional craft and archaeological replicas, with the smallest boats out on the hard in the village and then launched for the occasion. Among the latter group is the Halsnøybåten, reconstituted from archaeological remains which date back to before the year 400, the Vaaghals, a replica of a XVIe boat, some small combined row and sail boats with square sails ('Geitboat', 'Hog'), the Fyring built according to a model of the viking boats from Gokstad (IXth), a nordlandsbåter (Norland boats) by the boat builder Ulf Mikalsen, a Sognebåt, a kind of canoe for the inner fjords and several 'oselvars' (Norway's small ‘national' boat).

It is only fitting in this fine celebration of Norway and its treasures, that the country's national boat is on display of course. The ‘Oselvar' is a clinker built boat with thin, very wide planks. Construction begins with the first planks being sewn together between the stems and the keel and then the ribs (joists) are inserted. A four-oared boat would have three planks on each side. Oak was used for the keel, stems, rowlocks and the bent piece of wood that connected the keel and stem. The rest of the boat was built in pine. The work of every boat builder begins in the forest. He has to find pine trees suited to boat building (large trees) and wood which is the correct and natural shape for use as ribs, rowlocks etc. One essential element of the boat's construction is the ‘halsane', which are corkscrew shaped, virtually triangular planks that give the bottom of the boat its form towards the stems. The planks were traditionally shaped with an axe, but they have also been fashioned by using a technique incorporating steam and weights.

In the show's Norwegian village, there are traditional wooden houses, with exhibitions and craft workshops centred around coastal culture and protection of maritime cultural heritage, conservation of the intangible cultural heritage (national and international scale), marine technology, innovation and development, sustainable management of nature and culture.

The importance of young people learning their craft from the older generation is a point really drummed home by the villagers. Traditional boats are not built using drawn plans but this effectively means that there are no recorded line drawings, not that there are no plans at all. Instead boats are built to a system of proportions pretty much throughout Norway. Almost all of the critical measurements used in the construction of the boat are related to the length between the points where the garboard intersects the keel/stem at the bow and stern and the angle of the planks at certain points on the boat are also known. Boats like these would usually be planked without any transverse frames or moulds, transverse members instead being added after the planking was finished.Other boat building regions in Norway include Afjord, Sunnmøre, Nordland, Hardanger, etc. and each are synonymous with the building of different sizes of boat. In the Afjord region you might start off with a faering, moving up in scale to a saekstreng (or seksring), halvfjer-rømming, fyreng, femrøing (or lestabåt), fembørdeng (or fembøring), toskgarnsbåt, and storbåt (or Lofot-båt), but in another region boats may be scaled differently. Boats can be identified per region by the shape of the forefoot, sheer, and stem profile. These forms can vary quite a lot between areas but there is little difference in shape from one size to the next in boats from the same region.

The basic shape of the boat is governed by the stem, the keel (or flat bottom) and the transom or aft stem. Occasionally a removable mould would be used amidships to guide the builder as the planks are created but old Norwegian methods dispensed with moulds, relying instead on the eye and the hand and carefully measured sticks from the roof beams of the build shed to keep the strakes down when planking. The curve on the bottom edge of the plank, combined with its bevel, establish the final shape of the hull within the above structure.

In addition to Norway's big part in today's festivities, Brittany's Terre and Mer proved to be a huge lure for visitors to the show. Among the many attractions were cookery lessons with Olivier Bellin, who has secured a massive haul of awards over his career. The most familiar of these, for those of us outside France, are his two Michelin stars. He is the leading light at L'Auberge des Glazicks in nearby Plomodiern. Another guest star was Lionel Lemonchois who's most notable feat was a blindingly quick record for the Route du Rhum transatlantic race. He is at the show as skipper of Prince de Bretagne.

1,500 farmers and fishermen from the local region have also gathered together to promote their passion and chat with the public. Some of the real successes from the Terres et Mers de Bretagne village have been the animals and the product tastings, the milking of cows, tours of fishing boats and much, much more! Not surprisingly Brittany's Terres et Mers village is the festival's top hub for catering, a village where you eat 100% Breton food at its best

Not to be missed is a spectacular artistic light creation on the theme of water (an E.T.C. creation in partnership with the GDF Suez Group): 10 to 15 minutes of amazing video images spanning 50m in width and 23m in height, using various techniques and various styles, from graphic abstraction to realism, to morphogenesis.

The Statsraad Lehmkuhl, 98m (including the bowsprit), has to be one of the most beautiful three-masters in the world. She was built between 1997 and 2000 and is a modern yacht designed like the fast clippers of the 1850s and 1860s. She was built by students and jobseekers undergoing retraining. The project created a genuine charitable dynamic within the city of Amsterdam, increasing youth employment and highlighting the city's past as a commercial port and a hub for shipbuilding. Built for speed, she competes in International Sail Training Association contests and has an average speed of 15 knots.

Through her involvement in this association, she was able to compete for the Boston Teapot Trophy. The Boston Teapot Trophy is awarded to the ship which, at any time between 1 October and 30 September, covers the greatest distance in any period of 124hrs, which is five days and four hours. Most significantly, this must be achieved with a sail training crew on board. In November 2007, when Statsraad Lehmkuhl was on a voyage from Baltimore to Belfast with cadets from The Norwegian Naval Academy, the ship covered a distance of 1,118 nautical miles within a 124 hour period. This translates as an average speed over the entire period of 9.02 knots. The longest distance sailed during a four-hour period was 60 nautical miles, and the highest recorded speed was 18 knots over a short period of time. Not only is she one of the most beautiful sail training ships then, but she is also one of the fastest.

Proudly representing Norway at the Tonnerres de Brest 2012, the Statsraad Lehmkühl draws the eye with her size and elegance. Launched on 14 January 1914 as a German training ship, she was seized by the British at the end of World War One and bought by Norway in 1923, at which point she was rechristened 'Minister Lehmkuhl' in honour of its Minister Kristofer Lehmkuhl. The Third Reich requisitioned the boat during World War Two, and she was not repatriated to Norway until 1946, when she became a civilian training ship. Those who want to see her sailing will have that treat on Wednesday.

Colin Archer (1832 – 1921) was a Naval Architect/Shipbuilder based in Larvik Norway. His parents were Scottish, who emigrated to Norway in 1825. Prior to his career as a naval architect he spent time in Queensland, Australia, with several of his brothers running cargo vessels up the Fitzroy River when it was virtually unknown territory. He and his shipyard were known for building durable and safe ships, the most notable of which was the ‘Fram', which participated in several expeditions to the North Pole and, later in Roald Amundsen's historic first expedition to the South Pole. Fram is now preserved in the Fram Museum in Oslo, Norway. Archer also designed a sturdy sailing vessel class for the Redningsselskapet (The Norwegian Lifeboat institution), which was used for many years and now is referred to as a Colin Archer. The prototype lifeboat, 'Colin Archer RS 1', is still afloat and in use as a floating museum. Several other original vessels Redningsselskapet are still sailing including the Frithjof Wiese RS40.

Archer spent much time calculating how an efficient hull should be designed. To this day, people consult his work when designing new ships. He is credited with the design of more than two hundred vessels, including ‘Fram'. Archer's designs were modified for recreational sailing in the twentieth century. In 1904, he built a boat for the writer Erskine Childers named the ‘Asgard'; the boat is now in a museum and considered the 'most important yacht in the history of Ireland'. In 1928, the American Naval Architect William Atkin, scaled down Archer's 47-foot (14 m) Regis Voyager, a pilot boat design, to make the 32-foot (9.8 m) Eric, and in 1934 the 38-foot (12 m) Ingrid. The Eric went on to become very influential in ocean sailing, with boats such as Vito Duma's ‘Lehg II' and Sir Robin Knox Johnston's ‘Suhali' making notable circumnavigations, the latter becoming the first boat to be sailed single-handed and non-stop around the world and winning the Golden Globe Trophy. In the 1970s, these designs were in turn adapted for GRP construction, and spawned a whole raft of popular cruising boats including the likes of the Westsail 32 and the Hans Christian range of cruising boats, ensuring the endurance of the 'Archer double-ender'.

There are no less than five Colin Archer boats at Brest 2012: Kamalie af Lister, a replica of a pilot boat, RS 10 Christiania, an old lifeboat from 1895, Velsia, Rose of Risor and Coronasia of Penryn.

Velsia was designed and built by Colin Archer in 1890 -LOA 47' (14.3 M); LOD 35' (11.3 M).

Originally named 'Fantom' (Yard No 41) she was built to the lines of 'Vinga' (1886) but lengthened by about 2ft by increasing the frame spacing. She is constructed of oak on Norwegian pine doubled frames with a single steam bent oak strap between each main frame and supporting a cast iron ballast keel. Incredibly for a yacht of this age the hull is about 98% original, the deck about 75% and she still sports the original superstructure. She is able to carry 1000 sq.ft of sail on her gaff cutter rig. Typically for this type of vessel she has a fairly substantial displacement of 13 Tons but she is still very maneuverable and given the right conditions can show many a more modern yacht a clean pair of heels. She has a Saab 2HG 18hp diesel fitted for when the breeze gets to fickle and is based in Falmouth, Cornwall, UK and has been owned by the present family for 57 years.

Programme for tomorrow, Tuesday 17 July (dedicated to Mexico)

On shore (events and meeting):
Special programme in the Mexican village
Throughout the day: entertainment, music and pipes bands, guided tours of the Cuauhtémoc.
1800 - 2100 hours: Permanent shuttle between the Village on the right-hand back and the Cuauhtémoc on the left bank.
1900 hours: Reception on the Cuauhtémoc by the mariachis.
1900 – 2100 hours: Official reception.
2130 hours: Grand Mexican concert on the Grande Scène (Caña Brava Caña Dulce, Mariachis from the Internacional Juvénil Culiacan).

On the water (nautical entertainment and parades):
General theme: 'Brest, port of great expeditions and long voyages'.
1030-1130 hours: Casting off of the flotillas.
The chartered boats do a tour of the port from the fifth basin to the East to Pont Guesdon (or the entrance to the Penfeld for the bigger boats) before heading off into the Outer Harbour
1130-1300 hours: Nautical entertainment in front of the Mexican village.
The Belle-Poule and Étoile schooners come to pay homage to the Cuauhtémoc, the other flotillas from the guest countries sail about in front of the prestigious three-masters.
1400-1630 hours: Tack-about No.5 'The round of skiffs and combined row and sail boats'.
The Bantry skiffs take possession of the inner harbor in a sail-by with all their friends from the combined row and sail boats and small craft plus around a dozen chartered boats.
1700-1730 hours: Return of the flotillas.
From 2100 hours: Grand ‘Tropical' soirée at the Heliport cabaret marquee.
2230-2400 hours: La Pérouse parade.
2230-2300 hours: Training at the opening to the Penfeld.
23h00-2345 hours: Parade at the Commercial port.
Related boats: The Sea skiffs, the combined row and sail boat, the trawlers, luggers, historical relicas, sandeqs, jangadas and all the little exotic, old boat, as well as all the European tall ship who so wish.

Event website