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Monday, March 19, 2012: Program of the day: The Museum of the Company of the Indies, the sea rescue and the Navy to the Citadel of Port Louis then followed the submarine base in Lorient-Keroman. First, the video:


Plant the sets: The Citadel of Port Louis, as explained in the video was built and demolished in part several times. It is part of the defense system of Vauban. The citadel, relatively well preserved houses désormée three museums: the company of india, National Museum of the Marine Museum and rescue / emergency at sea.

We start by one of the prestigious East India Company.
The company was founded in 1664 by Colbert to get an online business with the East Indies, from Madagascar until China. The Company had three goals: trade with the struggle against the English and Dutch products, policy developed Navy and affirming the French presence on the seas. And finally, culture and religion in the ''pagan'' converting and spreading French civilization.
This is a company that could tell colonial order (as all companies of this era for that matter), which shoed discover china, spices (such as pepper, cumin, curry, ginger, cinnamon and others), silk and cotton products from India and several Eastern European countries to. This is the first Portugal embarked on the adventure, followed by England, Holland and France. There have been several clashes between these three. This results in the British supremacy on the seas. It was at this time, and largely thanks to or because of the East India Company that intensified colonization (in africa, asia and america by the great powers of Europe (France, England, Holland and a lesser extent Portugal and Spain). many inhabitants of these regions were colonized or that there was a strong trade at this time asking to return to their countries of goods which were stolen a few times (Hindu relics, porcelain China and sculptures among others).
The museum traces the history of the French East India Company, but also other European airlines of the time. There are reproductions of ships, furniture, porcelain, china, objects found in shipwrecks, textiles, sculptures, objects of all kinds, paintings and even Samurai Armor.

After this colorful scenery and smells we will visit the National Museum of the Marine with his heavy weapons in the yard of the cannonballs :

National Museum of the Marine is divided into two parts: the treasures of the deep with parts shipwrecks on the ocean floor. And the Museum of rescue which traces the history and evolution of technical rescue at sea
It is mainly the latter that we now turn.
Because of the many shipwrecks without rescue options there were seas and near coasts, the French government created in 1865 the SCSN (Société Centrale Rescue of Shipwrecked). The first lifeboat is offered on the same date by the Empress Eugenie. In 1866, the SCSN has 20 rescue stations and 15 were buildings along the French coast. In 1883, it is 70 sailing boats and oars are its flotilla of rescue. But the early twentieth century marked the beginning of the transition to motorboats, then asking to upgrade the entire fleet.
In 1967, the SCSN, the HSB (Rescue Hospital Britons) and the young SNSM (National Society for Sea Rescue) merged to pool all their equipment and thus be able to provide monitoring and assistance to survivors of all French coast. Thus forming the lifeboat which ensures full, since that date, the rescue of all the French coast and even on the high seas
In 2012, the lifeboat was: 4'920 interventions for 8'000 people in difficulties, 350 deaths, 232 lifeboat stations including all 5,100 volunteers and 552 boats of all types (from the dinghy to the speedboat class V1 and all-weather boats (CTT)).

Visit the museum and the citadel of Port-Louis completed, we are now moving towards Lorient to visit the submarine Flore.
Unfortunately, the submarine is not visitable today firefighters are training board to extinguish a fire in the submarine.

It does not matter, I will not visit the Flore today, but I attend maneuvers (no photos unfortunately) and I then visited the base in Lorient Keroman-3.
Built from 1940 to 1944 by the Germans during the occupation, the submarine base in Lorient-based Keroman is to house the 2nd and 10th U-boat flotilla of kriegsmarine as a stronghold in the Atlantic Wall. This point powerfully fortified strategy and will be released by the Allies, after 9 months of siege, on 10 May 1945! Or two days after the German surrender. This means that if the Germans were there were well entrenched.
But how can such a fortress? It took more than 15,000 German workers and 1 million cubic meter of concrete to get to this monster whose roof measured 10 meters thick (all concrete!). Several hundred guns, anti-aircraft (Flak) and machine gun nests bristle place.
After the surrender of Keroman, the French Navy uses for its submarines from 1945 to 1995. 95 submarines are treated (construction and repair) and a dozen minesweepers ships are built.
In 1997, the site was converted to civilian. There is now the nautical pole which makes multihulls for leisure and competition (cutting of america (2001) Volvo Ocean Race (2012)), the center Tabarly (2005), business center ''Celtic submarine'' as well as the museum and its Submarine Flore.

Back along the coast on foot, I walked past the center Tabarly and later in 10cm of water and mud, I saw something that made ​​my heart ache: shipwrecks. Leftover ribs and keel were wood rotting, abandoned in the mud. I learned that some ship captains did this when they found that their ship was too damaged or too old: he failed in the mud on the outskirts of the port. Result: instead of dignity for their ship, they clutter around the harbor and its banks. Here are 2 pictures of the ghosts naval who served captain with dignity and finally abandoned:
It is these images that sad ending story. The next day happens to Concarneau (wonderful pancake!) Fouesnant Quimper.

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