Replica of the Marquis de Lafayette’s ship Hermione to dock at Old Town, June 10-12

[PotomacCyclist]

While this isn’t exactly a bike-related event, it takes place in the bike-accessible area of Old Town Alexandria, with the on-street Mt. Vernon Trail and Capital Bikeshare stations nearby. The French have built a replica of the Hermione, which carried the Marquis de Lafayette back from France to the U.S. in 1780, so he could relay the announcement that the French were sending a large military force to assist in the fight against the British in the American Revolutionary War.

In June and July, the Hermione (L’Hermione) will sail to several ports along the East Coast, to highlight their importance in the Revolutionary War. The first stop will be in Yorktown, Va. The ship is scheduled to dock at Old Town Alexandria June 10-12. Other ports include Mt. Vernon, Annapolis, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Newport RI, Boston and others.

This isn’t something you see every day. While there are other tall ships out there, I think this is the first modern replica of the Hermione. Smithsonian Magazine has an interesting article about the Marquis de Lafayette and the new replica ship.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/marquis-lafayette-sails-again-180954590/

Topic

[PotomacCyclist]

The ship arrived in Alexandria last night. They didn’t publicize the schedule, even though the entire tour is being promoted and the ship is open to the public. Apparently there were fireworks in celebration of the ship’s arrival at Yorktown and at Mount Vernon. They posted some photos on their Facebook page:

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The ship will remain at Old Town through Friday.

[rcannon100]

I am going down Friday after FCCII if anyone wants to join. Not sure if I will be able to get a tour – but in my previous life I was a scallywag.

[CaseyKane50]

Here are a couple of photos from the ship I took this morning.

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[KWL]

@rcannon100 117801 wrote:

I am going down Friday after FCCII if anyone wants to join. Not sure if I will be able to get a tour – but in my previous life I was a scallywag.

Previous life? Whenabouts are you going to head out from FCCII? (translate: Do I need to get up early?)

[mstone]

@KWL 117810 wrote:

Previous life?

I was Joan of Arc in a former life

[AFHokie]

@PotomacCyclist 117799 wrote:

The ship will remain at Old Town through Friday.

Has anyone seen a planned departure time? Tours will run until 7pm, but I didn’t see anything about when she’ll depart.

[KayakCyndi]

Pre-booked tours are totally sold out. That said I’m still heading down to see her on Friday. Departure is late, late Friday pm. I heard going back under the WW bridge around mid-night Fri/Sat.

[mattotoole]

I am so sorry to be out of town. A friend went aboard in Yorktown the other day, had a great time.

Tall ship crews are an interesting world unto themselves. Strike up a convo if you get a chance!

[MFC]

@KayakCyndi 117814 wrote:

Pre-booked tours are totally sold out. That said I’m still heading down to see her on Friday. Departure is late, late Friday pm. I heard going back under the WW bridge around mid-night Fri/Sat.

I spoke to some of the crew members and they said the WW Bridge won’t open before midnight. Va. DOT posts opening times for the bridge, so hopefully there will some useful information there (nothing posted as of Thurs. morning).

[Kolohe]

Dr Gridlock reported earlier in the week that both the arrival and departure drawspan openings on the Wilson Bridge were going to be right around midnight.

[PotomacCyclist]

There are some photos on Twitter of the ship passing under the Wilson Bridge:

https://twitter.com/search?q=hermione%20bridge&src=typd&vertical=default&f=images

Getty Images, posted on the CNN website:

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I found another one yesterday, but I can’t find it now.

I stopped by Old Town today and saw the ship. They do have same-day tickets available for the free tours, but they run out quickly. You have to get there early, well before 8:30 am. The earliest people in line get tickets for the earliest tour times. If you get there just before the tickets run out, you will probably get an afternoon tour time. There were quite a few people lined up to visit the ship. If you don’t have a lot of time to wait around, you won’t be able to board the ship.

But you can get a good view of the ship from the docks, without getting a ticket. I’ll post a few photos shortly.

[PotomacCyclist]

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[Terpfan]

It was pretty cool. Only downside is Union Street was a zoo and despite taking the lane at the sharrows part, people literally drove next to me and started trying to force me over. The best part, they weren’t going anywhere, they were just aholes. But seeing the ship was fun. And the assortment of violin players, including a little kid.

[Emm]

Going to go check this out tonight after I go check out the felt bike I’ve been eyeing…(the seller got into town, yay!).

I just hope I can also find a place to eat in old town tonight that doesn’t have an hour wait…

[Author]

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