The original logo made during the creation of the association
By Yves Gaubert
1986, what if we created a maritime museum ?
June 19, 1988, the France 1 entered the trawler basin with fanfare, marking the opening of the La Rochelle Maritime Museum. The crowds are gathered on the quays. It’s party.
But the story begins in September 1986. Patrick Schnepp, passionate about boats and the sea, has long dreamed of creating a maritime museum in La Rochelle. That month, he decided with a few enthusiasts (Gilbert Maurel, Philippe Lavigne, Yves Gaubert, and a few others), faced with the threat of scrapping hanging over the 1906 steam dredger, to create with them the TD6 association (train dredging no. 6). At the same time, he created a second association, that of the Friends of the Maritime Commerce and Fishing Museum, which quickly became the association of Friends of the Maritime Museum of La Rochelle. And in April 1988, a third association was created, intended to manage the museum, of which I became president.
These pioneers are boaters, practicing the most diverse professions, often in connection with the sea. They are established in the maritime environment of La Rochelle and defend the project among fishermen, their organizations, fish merchants, maritime affairs, port professions. , pilots, towing and mooring sailors, shipping agents, chamber of commerce, maritime DDE (Lighthouses and Beacons, dredging service, etc.). The idea is to be in tune with maritime life.
The team of volunteers is setting up an exhibition on siltation and dredging in the Saint-Nicolas tower. This is the first achievement. Then, the story accelerates with the decision of Michel Crépeau, deputy mayor of La Rochelle, to buy the weather frigate France 1. The maritime museum begins to take on its true dimension. It’s the feverish preparation of the boat at the groyne of the water basin, the hiring of the first employees and the famous TUC (collective utility works)…
The museum association takes care of the management of the boat while the AAMMLR (acronym used until 2023) is there in support thanks to its volunteers. Patrick Schnepp leaves the presidency to entrust it to Lucien Bernard, a meteorologist who worked on weather frigates. This is the start of a long story.