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Étoile du Roy

Grand Turk, moored in Ostend, Belgium.
Grand Turk, moored in Ostend, Belgium
History
United Kingdom
Name: Grand Turk
Owner: Turk Phoenix Ltd.
Laid down: December 1996
Launched: September 1997
Fate: Sold, 2010
France
Name: Étoile du Roy
Owner: Étoile Marine Croisières
Port of registry: Saint-Malo, Brittany
Acquired: 2010
Identification:
Status: in active service, as of 2014
General characteristics
Type: Sixth-rate frigate
Tonnage:
Length:
  • 152 ft (46 m) o/a
  • 125 ft (38 m) deck
  • 97 ft (30 m) w/l
Beam: 34 ft (10 m)
Draught: 10 ft (3.0 m)
Propulsion:
  • 2 × 400 hp (298 kW) Kelvin TAS8 diesel engines
  • 2 shafts
  • 1 × 60 hp (45 kW) bow thruster
Sail plan:
Speed: 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) (engines)
Crew: 9 permanent + up to 23 volunteers
Armament:
  • 6 × 9-pounder guns
  • 3 × 2-pounder guns

Étoile du Roy (litt. "King's Star", formerly Grand Turk) is a three-masted sixth-rate frigate, designed to represent a generic Nelson-age warship, with her design greatly inspired by HMS Blandford (1741). The ship was built in Marmaris, Turkey, in 1996 to provide a replica of a frigate for the production of the ITV series adapted from the novels about Royal Navy officer Horatio Hornblower by C. S. Forester. Nowadays the tall ship is used mainly in sailing events, for corporate or private charter, and for receptions in her spacious saloon or on her deck. In 2010 the ship was purchased by the French company Étoile Marine Croisières, based at Saint-Malo, Brittany, and since then has been renamed Étoile du Roy.

The frigate was designed by Michael Turk of Turks Shipyard Ltd. of Chatham, which was established in 1710. She was constructed of iroko planking over laminated mahogany frames. She has an overall length of 152 ft (46 m), and is 97 ft (30 m) at the waterline, with a beam of 34 ft (10 m) and a draught of 10 ft (3.0 m). The frigate is square-rigged on three masts with a sail area of 8,500 sq ft (790 m2), and has two 400 hp (298 kW) Kelvin TAS8 diesel engines, and a 60 hp (45 kW) bow thruster, as well as four AC generators for electrical power.

The ship was originally fitted with six 9-pounder replica cannons constructed by the naval dockyard of Sevastopol, Ukraine. These guns consisted of a high tensile steel tube encased in moulded alloy to resemble the original weapons, and were designed only to fire 400 g (14 oz) black powder charges. On 24 August 2001 a crew member was injured after a premature explosion during the firing of a gun, while the ship was taking part in the International Festival of the Sea at Portsmouth. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch were obliged to consult the Keeper of Artillery from the Royal Armouries museum for technical assistance and advice.


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