The mission of transporting the Olympic flame on the first leg of its journey to the opening ceremony in Paris was given to one of the France’s most venerable sailing ships, the Belem, built in 1896.
Between April 26 and May 8, the ship will sail the Mediterranean to bring the flame from Greece to Marseille, the start of the Olympic torch relay on French soil.
It’s fair to say that the task of conveying the flame to France is only the latest of the ship’s adventures over the past 128 years. The Belem escaped disaster in 1902 during a massive volcanic eruption while at anchor off Saint Pierre, Martinique. While approaching the port of Yokohama, Japan, in 1923, the ship again avoided the worst when an earthquake destroyed much of the city.
The Belem is a three-masted barque 58 metres long and 8.8 metres wide and carries 22 sails, the heaviest weighing 800 kg. Her main mast measures 34 metres above sea level. Maximum speed is 9.2 knots, or 17 km/h.
The ship is currently crewed by 16 professional sailors from the merchant navy and up to 48 trainees – a blend of youth and experience.
Ship's captain Aymeric Gibet will supervise the 20 or so young people who will be making the voyage to bring the flame to France.
"We are the first link in a collective adventure" that "will continue ashore", Gibet told Presse Océan.
The ship, built in the port of Nantes in Brittany, was initially a merchant ship used to transport cocoa, rum and sugar across the Atlantic from the Caribbean and Brazil.
The Belem was transformed into a luxury yacht by the Duke of Winchester Hugh Grosvenor in 1914, and was acquired by the Irish brewer Arthur Guinness in 1921.
The ship was converted into a training vessel for merchant marine sailors in the 1950s after becoming the property of Vittorio Cini, a Venetian count.
The ship was returned to French ownership thanks to the Caisses d'Epargne savings bank , which raised the funds for her purchase. The Belem was returned to her home port in Brittany in August 1979. Since 1980, the ship has been managed by the non-profit Belem foundation.
In 1984, restored to her original condition, the Belem was officially classified as a national monument. As well as serving as a sail training ship, she has made many voyages in a ceremonial capacity: she was present at the centenary of the Statue of Liberty (1986), the 400th anniversary of Quebec City (2008) and the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II (2012). The Belem was also present at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
For its arrival in Marseille on May 8, the Belem will enjoy an impressive escort: a gigantic boat parade of up to a thousand ships will accompany the three-master into port. As many as 150,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony in the city's Old Port.
After it completes its Olympic mission in Marseille, the Belem will call at five ports in France on the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.
The Olympic torch relay will last 68 days and will end in Paris with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony on July 26.
Along its route, the flame will be carried by some 10,000 torchbearers, making stops at such iconic sites as the Lascaux caves, Mont Saint-Michel and the Loire castles, as well as places of remembrance such as the Verdun Memorial and the D-Day landing beaches to mark the 80th anniversary of the Libération.
In June, the torch will be flown to the West Indies, French Guiana and the Kourou space center, Réunion, Polynesia and New Caledonia.
The Olympic torch will return to metropolitan France to spend July 14 at Paris City Hall. After the opening ceremony along the Seine near the Louvre the Olympic flame will be situated in the neighbouring Tuileries gardens, a security source told AFP.
This article has been translated from the original in French.
