Grand Turk (frigate)

Grand Turk, moored in Ostend, Belgium.

The Grand Turk was the original name of a three-masted sixth-rate frigate, that was designed to represent a generic Nelson age warship replica, with its design greatly inspired by HMS Blandford (1741). She was laid down in Marmaris, Turkey in 1996, primarily to provide a replica of a frigate, for the production of the ITV series adapted from the famous novels about Royal Navy officer Horatio Hornblower by Cecil Scott Forester. Nowadays the tall ship is used mainly in sailing events, for corporate or private charter, and for receptions in its spacious saloon or on its deck. The ship is currently based in Saint Malo Brittany and has been re-named "L'Etoile du Roy" - "The King's Star".

Size and Power

While L'Etoile du Roy has a deck that is lined with cast iron smooth-bore cannon, a frigate was neither large enough nor sufficiently well armed to fight in the "line of battle". Her function would have been primarily to scout for the main fleet, attack enemy commerce, giving support where necessary, or carry messages. The hull is made of iroko planking on a couples mahogany glued on barrotage is pine glulam. The overall length is 46.3 m waterline length of 29.6 m, the midship of 10.4 m and draft of 3.4 m. The rigging of three-masted square, giving a vertical clearance of 35.6 m, can deploy 800 square meters of canvas. The frigate has all the modern equipment, windlass and hydraulic winches ... she has two diesel engines of 400 horsepower (Kelvin TAS8) which consumes 1850 liters / day to 900 rpm (speed 8.5 knots), a bow thruster Hydraulic 60 horses and no less than 4 generators (Ford 110, 80, 70 and 35 kVA).

Appearances

The Grand Turk entering the harbour of Ostend, Belgium

The Grand Turk is familiar as a stand in for HMS Indefatigable in the TV series Hornblower, although the historical Indefatigable was a larger ship. She also served in the same TV series as the French ship Papillon. On 28 June 2005 she stood in for HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship at the International Fleet Review off Portsmouth (GB), commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.

Film and TV credits

• Hornblower (TV series), 1998-2003.
• Longitude - Granada Productions, A&E, 2000.
• Monsieur N, 2003.
• To the ends of the Earth - BBC, Tightrope Pictures, 2005.

Current Location

The frigate was purchased by Bob Escoffier of the Etoile Marine Croisieres, which already operates a number of traditional sailing ships: Étoile de France, Étoile Molène, Étoile Polaire, Naire Maove et' and la goélette-aviso de Brest La Recouvrance (in partnership with its owner, the SOPAB). The final sale price was not disclosed. After being moored in Whitby for over a decade, the Grand Turk sailed out of her home harbour for last time at 4:00am 16th March 2010 to her current location in France.

Images of the Grand Turk

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  The Grand Turk

See also

• HMS Surprise - Replica of HMS Rose (1757), built in 1970.
• Ship replica (including a list of ship replicas)

External links

• BBC video (42 min.) - re-enactment of the Battle of Trafalgar with the Grand Turk as the HMS V.htm Crew photos of "Trafalgar 200"
• Crew photos of "Monsieur N" filming in St Malo (France) 2002
• Crew photos of "To the ends of the Earth" filming off Dunkirk (France) 2004