FRBV26 INC CAEC Visit to the Sailing Ship Duchesse Anne

The training ship La Duchesse Anne is the largest sailing vessel and the last square‑rigged three‑masted ship preserved in France. A landmark of Dunkirk’s maritime heritage, it is moored in front of the Port Museum and was recently restored. We enjoyed an English‑language guided tour, beginning on the main deck.Our guide outlined the ship’s history: built in 1901 to train crews for the German merchant navy, it was handed over to France in 1946 as war reparations and bought by the city of Dunkirk in 1981 for one symbolic franc. Now owned by the Dunkirk Urban Community, it was originally named Grossherzogin Elisabeth before becoming La Duchesse Anne in honour of Anne of Brittany. The ship sailed the Baltic Sea and the coasts of Africa and South America with 130–200 cadets supervised by 15–20 officers. Listed as a historic monument since 1982, it has a 48‑metre main mast and originally carried 25 sails. We then learned about daily life on board. Below deck, the large room served as both classroom and dining hall by day, and as a dormitory by night when hammocks were hung from the hooks still visible today. We visited the galley and officers’ cabins before watching a video on the recent restoration, which included rebuilding the damaged wooden deck and removing large amounts of concrete ballast from the hold.Back on the main deck, the guide explained the function of various technical features, such as the bell and the two steering wheels. The visit ended on a lighter note with old maritime superstitions: certain words like “rabbit” and “rat” were banned as bad luck, whistling was forbidden for fear of summoning storms, and women were once not allowed on board—thankfully no longer the case.

The pupils were struck by the sheer size of the sailing ship and gained a real sense of the harsh living conditions faced by the trainee sailors—young people their own age—at the beginning of the 20th century. Discovering the cramped dormitory space, the hammocks, and the strict daily routines helped them imagine what life at sea was truly like at the time. They were also fascinated to learn that the ship relied entirely on wind power, an energy source that is both eco‑friendly and sustainable