Le Gros Ventre
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Sailing barge of the King, having participated to the KERGUELEN expedition in 1772 (1766-1777) A sailing barge is a laden ship designed for support and assistance to the vessels of a squadron, or during remote expeditions. The "GROS-VENTRE" was then built in Bayonne by L.M. GUIGNACE, subbuilder engineer, from the scheme of GINOUX, in 1766-1767. This sailing barge is commissioned with ten calibre 4 guns. Having been sent by the King on a mission to the deep south, Yves Joseph de KERGUELEN-TREMAREC reaches the Ile de France (to day Mauritius) in august 1771, on the BERRYER, a big 900 tons merchant ship. Aware of the bad qualities of this type of ship for his matter, he decide to transfer his expedition equipment on to smaller ships then available: the flute LA FORTUNE, with 24 guns, and the sailing barge LE GROS-VENTRE, a 350 tons ship whose outfitting is increased to sixteen 4 pounds guns, and which has received a orlop deck to better arrange the inner volume. KERGUELEN will command LA FORTUNE, his second in command SAINT-ALLOUARN le GROS-VENTRE. |
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The expedition arrives on February 12th in view of a "very high ground running from north to south". On February 13th, LE GROS-VENTRE succeed to enter in a small bay, while LA FORTUNE was tacking in the offing. A gig is sent at shore, commanded by sub-lieutenant Charles de BOISGUEHENEUC. The group gets on landing a few hours, and takes over this new ground at the name of the King of France. He hoists up the flag and they scream three times "Hurrah for the King!" in firing volleys of musketry, after having set down under a cairn a message in a bottle. This is since time that the Kerguelen Islands are French Territory!
The continuation of the expedition, will allow LE GROS-VENTRE to explore the western coast of Australia, while KERGUELEN has sailed to the Ile de France, and the mother country, to carry the new of his "discovery"! LE GROS-VENTRE will sail back Ile de France, with exhausted crew in September 1772. SAINT-ALLOUARN will die there, and the GROS-VENTRE put out of commission will end her career as a pontoon in 1777. This is because of her tacking over at Kerguelen, that this ship is beloved to B. FRÖLICH who soon after the edition of the monograph of G. DELACROIX, decided to built a model.
This model, at the classical scale of 1:48, is handle in "ship yard model". Her skeleton entirely made, is visible on the port side where holes in the planking allow to see the inner arrangements. The starboard side is fully planked, and the model is fully rigged, without sails. The GROS-VENTRE is represented with the installations she had received for this expedition.
The model, in pear three, ebony, maple wood for the deck, has been completed in September 2007. His construction started in 2003 will have needed 1650 hours of work.
The sizes of the model are as follows:
Length = 109 cm.
High = 83 cm.
Width = 39 cm.