BOSTON, April 18 — A replica of the 18th-century ship that took a French general on his voyage to become a hero of the American war of independence was to set sail again today, cheered off by thousands of well-wishers and President Francois Hollande.

Big crowds gathered to wish “bon voyage” to the painstakingly recreated tall ship Hermione, leaving from Ile d’Aix, in southwest France, for the east coast of the United States.

The French and American flags were raised on the wooden frigate and crew members made last minute preparations for their Atlantic crossing retracing the voyage 235 years ago of General Lafayette, who won fame for rallying America’s rebels fighting for independence from Britain.

Hollande was expected to give a speech on French-American relations.

Earlier, US President Barack Obama sent a message stressing “friendship between the two countries,” according to the head of the Hermione-Lafayette project, Benedict Donelly.

The US consul in the nearby city of Bordeaux was to read out the message at the ceremony.

Then, after a fireworks display, the ship was to set sail at 2030 GMT, with a first stop due in the Canary Islands, before continuing across the Atlantic Ocean.

Replica ship, re-enacted route

Some 80 crew members will sail the three-masted 65-metre (213-feet) ship along the route to Boston made by French General Gilbert du Motier — the Marquis de Lafayette — to bolster revolutionaries fighting for an independent United States.

Back in 1778 the original Hermione took a mere six months to build. The new replica took 17 years to construct, mobilising hundreds of craftspeople from around the world.

The crew plans to make landfall on June 5 in Yorktown in Virginia, where US troops led by George Washington and French soldiers accompanied by General Lafayette scored a decisive victory over the British in 1781.

“The Hermione, the ship that reunited Lafayette and Washington and sealed our freedom, sails again for America,” trumpets the website promoting the reconstruction of the epic journey.

The project is the brainchild of a group of history and sailing enthusiasts who two decades ago embarked on the arduous task of recreating the vessel using only 18th century shipbuilding techniques.

The frigate is scheduled to make more than 10 stops in the United States as it sails up the east coast, including in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Boston.

Hermione will also sail into New York Harbour just in time for July 4 independence celebrations, with an expected escort of hundreds of local yachts.

Yann Cariou, a veteran sailor who has already completed seven round-the-world trips in the military and civilian navy, will captain the imposing ship.

The project cost €25 million (RM100 million), financed by more than four million visitors to the shipyard in Rochefort in southwestern France where the ship was built, as well as through crowd-funding initiatives for specific parts of the ship.

It took Lafayette 38 days to cross the Atlantic, a voyage that confirmed his renown as a hero of the American Revolution.

Even today, Lafayette remains a constant presence across the country he helped transform from British colony into the energetic new state that would eventually become today’s superpower.

At least 42 US counties and cities and hundreds of streets and squares — including the famed Lafayette Square opposite the White House — are named after him or after his ancestral home in France, La Grange. — AFP