GREAT FRENCH SAILOR

Hokitika Guardian, 1 August 1929, Page 8

GREAT FRENCH SAILOR

COUNT DE TOURATTLE. The visit to Auckland of the Tourville, the very inodeni and fast cruisei of the French Navy, will remind students of history -that all our encounters'with that gallant nation did not turn out quite so satisfactorily l’.cu our 'standpoint as St. Vincent or Trafalgar. There was a time when the .j.. t fMliu hag was practically sw'ept from the sea, and the men who dn it was Hilarion do Contcntin, Comti de Tourville, born at Paris in 1642 who was undoubtedly the greatesi sailor of his era. He was not only personally brave as a lion, but he hac the added gifts of organisation ant strategy. Although such a great fight er lie was singularly polished an : polite—although the sort of sea-hero that the British admire. The story of his career and of that of the various ships which have been named after him is contained n> a neat little booklet called “Croiscur Tourville” for a copy of which we are indebted the French Consul at Auckand M. Paul Serre. The booklet is in drench, and below we give some of the' salient points which will enable ucklanders to grasp what the name ueans to a Frenchman. ‘‘The greatest sailor of the century ud the most modest,” was the reputation given to de Tourville by the English and the Dutch- -and they ao irl ha io known, for they were mndsomely beaten by him on morc olian one occasion, lie went to sea at. the. l age of 16, in a ship !elong:r,g ic he ; Knights-of Malta, and had sonv welting experiences fiuhting the Bar•ary corsairs. When lie waR 19 lie allowed a Tunisicn craft to lioard him. fter n 159 of the pirates had swarm-, ■d over his vessel, he ordered th lines of the grappling iron to be cut. mastered the horde which' had swop' •liboard, then he boarded their ship nil captured her.

1 HERO OF BEVEZIERS. At the age of 25 de Tmirville enter'd T '’"mich Navy T , and took part in nost rt the daring exploits of the latter' half of the 17th century. Tin; year 1699 was memorable for Franco, and disastrous for England and Holland. De Tourville was then Com-mn.nrlor-in-Ohiof and i”'« pendant on the “Solcil Royal.’’ On July 10 of that he front the combined fleet of •‘■i’" English and Dutch at Bevezieis Eiftflen enemy ships were destroyed or captured and as the- French memoir hii+s- if, “the En<di oli flog disappeared from the sea”. In the following year the French fitted out .only i moderate number of .Tins, and deTourville’s instructions were to protof' the coasts of France, but not to seek a big .fight. During this “campaign >f the open sea,” as it was called, he added Pis laurels. 1692 he met the T 'v’-u-i, fl e ct of 99 ships off Harfluer, and he had but 45. Although he could have easily made off lie told his officers that his nr-Ws this time were to attack the enemy strong or weak, wherever ho found them. When night foil not one French ship ha ! struck her colours or gone to the bottom. rr V. enemy had two shins and soundly 1 in spite of the Do Tourville was made a Marshal of Tl >an'-o. and retir-° rl 1 n well-earned rest in 1697, when the Peace of Rvswick put an end to tht* war. He died in 1701.

HIS- NAMESAKES. The first warship failed Tourville, i lfter the great admiral was a vessel of 74 guns. She was so well-built that she was not condemned until 1834. She took part in many engagements, but'as far as the English are concerned her most interesting memory was that she was once one of the vessels taking part in the expedition of Houho to Ireland. .Between 1811 and 1814 an old vessel of Spanish origin bore the name if Tourville while she was attached to Ihe Naval School at Brest. The next Tourville was a fine vessel of 90 guns Built at Brest, she was fitted with the auxiliary screw. She took part in the Franco-British expedition to the Baltic during the ••Crimean war. Like the grand old wooden walls of England, the Tourville of that epoch was a most picturesque object, with her double tier of gun ports, her carved stern. and towering masts and wide yards. The Tourville of the Crimean era was succeeded by a cruiser built in 1876. Although she was constructed of wood, the builders had made such a good job of her that she was not hrokbn up until 1993. The name Tourville' did not appear on the poop of another ship until 1909 and then it was carried by a transport. In 1914 plans: were laid for building a 29,000 ton ship to carry the name, but sh.e was never built, and until file Tourville which is visiting Auckland was beguii in 1925 the name was borne by the old transport mentioned.