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The Girl Joyce is an English pilot cutter built in 1855, making it one of the oldest sailing ships in the world. This small fishing boat sailed Jersey’s waters until 1934, before serving the French resistance during WWII. It was then abandoned and only recently rediscovered in 2013, when Yvon Le Corre, a highly acclaimed navigator, writer and marine painter, found it on the banks of the River Rance. The Girl Joyce, which was purchased and beautifully restored by Le Corre, is now used as a cruise ship, having visited Brittany, the Mediterranean, Patagonia and Cape Verde on its journeys across the seven seas.
A few weeks before his death in 2020, Yvon Le Corre entrusted the Girl Joyce to Nicolas Chanteloup, who became its owner and happy captain.
« He felt it was time for him to hand over this boat to a young sailor. I am not the owner of this boat; I am its guardian. I’m going to sail and experience as much as I can with her in the time that I’ve got, but a boat like this is only passed on. This is not my boat. »
The Despierres shipyard reinvigorated the elegant Girl Joyce with a touch of colour, giving it a well-deserved and thorough makeover: we stripped it, painted/varnished it, stripped and re-cast the hull, repaired the stern (the large part representing the rear limit of a ship’s hull and which supports the rudder), caulked the deck, broke off the mast and changed the pulleys and the running rigging.
Materials: Wooden hull and deck; wooden mast and spar.
Date and place of launch: 1855, plymouth
Restorations: 2013 at the Conrath shipyard in Paimpol 2020 at the Despierres yard.
Initial use: fishing pilot cutter
Origin: French
Home port: La Rochelle
Current use: Private cruising yacht
Overall length: 14,5 m
Hull length: 10,8 m
Length at waterline: 2,8 m
Maximum width: 2,8 m
Maximum draught: 1,8 m
Air draft: 11 m
Displacement : 10,5 t.
Maximum sail area 120 m²
Front: Vertical bow; jibboom
Registration: H 11
Built by the Bonnin Frères shipyard in Lormont, based on the plans of the naval architect, François Camatte, the Cupidon Fou (Crazy Cupid) was launched in 1929 for Baron Philippe de Rothschild, who would become one of the best French racers of the 1930s. The Cupidon Fou is now owned by the Musée Mer et Marine (Sea and Marine Museum) in Bordeaux.
Classified as a historical monument in 2011, this 11-metre sailing ship is currently being rebuilt at the Despierres shipyard under the supervision of the DRAC (Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs in Nouvelle Aquitaine).
In partnership with the Hermione Lafayette association, which is dedicated to preserving French maritime heritage, the Nouvelle Aquitaine Region and the AFPA (National Agency for Adult Vocational Training), the Musée Mer et Marine has entrusted the reconstruction of the Cupidon Fou to the Despierres shipyard, as part of an integration project.
The Cupidon Fou, which is currently being restored, is not only a maritime legacy in need of revival, but also a life-sized teaching aid for apprentices, who are being trained in a living shipyard, faithful to our tradition of passing on knowledge.
After 5,000 hours of work, the Cupidon Fou will have finally regained its 1930s spirit in 2022. Our twelve apprentices will also be awarded with a professional skills certificate for “the manufacture and restoration of wooden elements for a pleasure boat” and granted the title of “maritime carpenter.”
« After studying the frame, we redesigned the plans for the Cupidon Fou with the help of the DRAC. We then re-made a surface plate, drawn a scale-1 sketch of the boat, before going beyond that, and later rebuilt all the parts of the boat. This type of marine carpentry work is hardly ever seen today ! »
Type of boat: 6m IJ (International Class)
Materials: Wooden hull and deck; wooden mast and spars
Date and place of launch: 1929, Arcachon
Restorations: 2013 at the Conrath shipyard in Paimpol 2020 at the Despierres yard.
Initial use: Regatta
Origin: French
Home port: La Rochelle
Overall length: 11.22m
Maximum width: 1.98m
Mid-ship height: 1.38m
Maximum draught: 1.62m
Displacement: 4.05t
Hull volume: 3.67t
Surface area of submerged main frame: 1.127m²
Prismatic Coefficient (PC): 0.507
Front: Vertical bow; jibboom
The Robin des Mers was built in 1951 by the Union Sablaise shipyard in La Rochelle for a fisherman from the island of Groix. The Robin des Mers returned to La Rochelle Port in 1968, with its name changing to “Kerhorre” under new ownership. It was also fitted out for pleasure boating before later arriving at the docks in 2018 for a complete makeover. Unable to undertake this major restoration work, its owner contacted the Flottile en Pertuis Association, which, in collaboration with Patrimoine Maritime Oléonnais (The Oléron Maritime Heritage Association), bought this boat and restored its original name.
Through the work of DRAC, the funding required to restore this sloop has been raised. Having arrived at the Despierre shipyard in September 2018, the Robin des Mers, which featured on the successful French TV series “Je te promets,” during its restoration, will be relaunched in June 2022. It will also be seeking its third owner.
Type of boat: Auric sloop
Materials: Wood, oak and pine
Date and place of launch: 1951, La Rochelle
Uses: Fishing and pleasure boat
Origin: French.
Home port: La Rochelle
Overall length: 11.10m
Hull length: 8.30m
Width at waterline: 6.90m
Maximum width: 2.56m
Maximum draught: 1.30m
Air draft: 9.50m
Gross tonnage:4.56 Gt
Maximum sail area: 55m²
Registration: LR797555
30/32, rue Sénac de Meilhan
17000 LA ROCHELLE
Tél. : +33(0)5 46 50 52 66