The Ange-Gardien, ship of the privateer Claude Terrisse from Agathois, was reborn thanks to Michel Rézé, who rebuilt her identically.
Claude Terrisse is one of the great maritime figures of Agathois. Born in Agde in 1598, he is irresistibly attracted by the sea.
He spent a few years as a privateer in the service of the Duke of Savoy and was given command of several ships to hunt down pirates on the coast of Sardinia.
In 1635, Louis XIII and Richelieu engaged the kingdom in the Thirty Years' War, which pitted France against Spain, among others.
They enjoin Terrisse to come back to serve the kingdom and help it to arm the Guardian Angel. Long years of expeditions, battles, convoying of merchant ships, protection of the coasts as far as Barcelona and the Ebro Delta followed.
When his maritime career ended, Terrisse became Intendant General of the Languedoc, thanked several times by Louis XIV.
He will end his political career in Agde where he will hold the position of first consul.
Nearly three centuries later, a man decides to give life to the Guardian Angel.
This man is Michel Rézé, who has been living in Agde for more than 25 years and who is well known for having been the owner of the Vieux-Crabe, this former tuna vessel of 1951 on which he embarked summer sailors for unforgettable outings from the Grau d'Agde.
Michel Rézé has known several lives...
In 2003, he buys a first shipyard located in the industrial zone of Agde, where he starts, among other things, the construction of traditional rowing boats. Then in 2006, he acquired this historic shipyard on the banks of the Hérault river where he still works.
The Guardian Angel, he has been thinking about it for a long time.
He knew the dimensions of the privateer boat.
So the idea was to find an old wooden boat with the right dimensions, and to transform it so that it resembles as much as possible what the original was supposed to be. After a long search, he finally came across an old lamparo fishing boat.
Over the next two years, some urgent and necessary work was done on the hull.
However, it was only when the Old Crab was sold in March 2019 that the shipyard was able to begin work.
In the end, the main mast will carry 60m² of sail, the staysail will support 40, while the mizzen will carry about 20. A polacre could be added to the downwind.
In August 2020, the first outing of the ship took place.
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