French Patrol Frigate in SF

Ordie · 04-05-2007, 03:44 PM

FYI

The French patrol frigate "Prairial" is in San Francisco at Pier 30/32 (next to Bay Bridge) from April 5 through April 11.

She's a Floreal Class Patrol frigate homeported in Tahiti.

Sharp · 04-05-2007, 05:13 PM

Nice!
What were they doing to San Francisco? Just a show?

ronnieraygun · 04-05-2007, 06:20 PM

Tahitipresse) - A 10h00 sonnante, lundi matin, la frégate de surveillance "Prairial" a quitté Papeete pour une mission de trois mois dans l'est du Pacifique via la zone économique française de Clipperton. Commandé par le capitaine de frégate Frédéric de Rupilly, le "Prairial" est en route pour une mission d'une centaine de jours qui commencera par une escale aux Marquises.
"Ce périple est à la fois diplomatique et l'opportunité d'oeuvrer avec les marines du Pacifique" a informé le commissaire principal Ameye.
Le bâtiment de la Marine nationale poursuite son voyage sur San Francisco (USA), puis Cabo San Lucas (Mexique). Il mènera à cette occasion une mission de surveillance dans la zone économique exclusive de Clipperton.

En décembre dernier le "Prairial" avait interpellé au large de Clipperton deux bâtiments de pêche au cours de sa mission de contrôle des pêches illicites dans la zone économique exclusive de Clipperton. "L'atoll de la Passion", comme on le nomme plus communément, et bien qu'il s'étend sur 7 km2, donne près de 430 000 km² de zone économique exclusive à la France. Une zone pillée par les pêcheurs de différentes nationalités. Un accord entre la France et le Mexique est en cours concernant la pêche autour de cet atoll français.
Le "Prairial" rejoindra également Golfito (Costa Rica), Balbao (Panama), Guayaquil (Équateur), Mejillones (Bolivie), Iquique (Chili) et sur le chemin du retour en Polynésie française, l'île de Pâques (Rapa Nui).
Durant ce périple, la frégate prendra régulièrement part à des exercices conjoints avec les marines des pays hôtes, notamment à l'exercice "Team Work South" au large du Chili. Le "Prairial" qui a embarqué quatre-vingt dix hommes d'équipage sera de retour le 2 juillet à Papeete.

ronnieraygun · 04-05-2007, 06:56 PM

It had been to Seattle. It is going also to Mexico.
This says it is part of an exercise and it is passing through the Clipperton economic zone. It had been there before, interdicting illegal fishing. France has rights in this area. It will join other vessels of host nations in exercises and also be in an exercise off Chile in "Teamwork South."

Clipperton is also another interesting little story. I'm surprised no one brought it up in some of the Falklands discussions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipperton_Island

Ordie · 04-05-2007, 08:23 PM

It sounds like a fantastic cruise!!

Last time she was here I had a tour. Half the crew were Tahitians doing thier military service. The hangar is large enough to fit a Puma, but they had a rare Alouette III on board.

The passageways were named after streets in Paris with the typical French Street sign painted on the bulkheads.(Nice touch).

I like the concept of forward deployed patrol frigates. It's something that the USN should consider in places such as Kodiak, Pago Pago, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Singapore. Mixed USNR/USCG local crews who know the area and sail to local ports as diplomatic power projection, law enforcement, and force multipliers for the fleet.

Nizark · 04-06-2007, 03:13 AM

based in Tahiti...must be rough

Galileo · 04-06-2007, 04:35 AM

I spent 3 years in tahiti : after 6 months you have see all in the island , 6 more month to visit the nearest islands (from Moorea to Bora Bora) and after it more boring not a lot of distraction except girls (between 18 and 22), beach, scuba diving, sailing and Hinano "la biere qui rend idiot" (the local beer).

Ordie · 04-06-2007, 05:44 PM

SAN FRANCISCO
French frigate here for a week

Warship on way to military exercises off South America

Carl Nolte, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, April 6, 2007
San Francisco Chronicle

A small French warship from exotic places dropped by San Francisco on Thursday for a week's visit on its way to military maneuvers off South America.
The ship is the frigate Prairial, a trim gray vessel displacing 2,950 tons, carrying an imposing 100mm gun in a turret forward, two Exocet missiles, a helicopter and 92 sailors.
In some ways, the Prairial is a throwback to another era: The ship's mission is to patrol the vast southern Pacific Ocean around the islands of French Polynesia. It is an area larger than Europe, said Captaine de Fregate Frederic de Rupilly, 39, the ship's commanding officer.
The ship's mission is to maintain a French presence there, to show the flag, and to watch out for smugglers and drug traffickers and to protect the fisheries. "We are a patrol boat,'' said de Rupilly.
Incidents are rare, although last year the Prairial had to send a boarding party to a vessel fishing illegally in waters claimed by France off Clipperton Island, a remote, uninhabited atoll.
The other vessel had armed men aboard, but gave up after a look at the frigate's guns and a boatload of tough-looking seamen.
De Rupilly brought his ship to San Francisco from the Marquesas Islands, a French territory about 2,800 miles from the Golden Gate. "We took 11 days to get here,'' he said. "We did some training, some sea exercises. We were in no hurry.''
He had been to San Francisco before, he said, as a tourist, some years ago. "We came to refuel and to get supplies, and because there is a French community here. And, of course,'' he said diplomatically, "because this is a beautiful city.''
The Prairial, named for a month in the old French revolutionary calendar, sails Wednesday for San Diego, then to several Central and South American ports. The ship will participate in a joint exercise called Teamwork South with U.S., Chilean and Argentine navy ships, and then return to the Marquesas with a stop at Clipperton and Easter Island.
If you go:
The Prairial is docked at Pier 32, halfway between the Ferry Building and AT&T Park. The ship will be open for public tours from 2 to 5 p.m. today, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Martel · 04-08-2007, 07:23 AM

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...G1OP4C3C12.DTL

France awards S.F. man top medal

More than a lifetime ago, John Orofino was a young soldier on a dangerous scouting mission behind German lines in eastern France.

The Allies had broken out of the Normandy beachhead. Gen. George Patton's forces were rolling across France. Orofino's platoon was assigned to see what was ahead. They were 60 to 70 miles ahead of the front when the platoon ran into a strong German force.

"It was quite a firefight,'' Orofino remembers. "The lieutenant was shot, the staff sergeant was killed. I was left.'' He was 21, a low-ranking sergeant -- "a buck sergeant,'' he said. He took command, put the wounded on a jeep and led a fighting retreat, holding the Germans off with a machine gun.

"I did a John Wayne,'' he said. Orofino was badly wounded himself. He was awarded the Silver Star for heroism.

On Thursday, nearly 63 years after that battle in France, the French government presented him with the Legion of Honor in recognition of his services during the war. It is France's highest honor.

"France will never forget the American soldiers who risked their lives and gave France back its liberty and its honor in World War II,'' said Frederic Desagneaux, the French consul general in San Francisco.

The award was presented, complete with a guard of honor of French sailors, on board the French Navy frigate Prairial, which is on a courtesy call to San Francisco.

Orofino is 83 now and lives in the West Portal neighborhood in San Francisco. He taught in San Francisco schools for 33 years, notably as the head of the English department at Galileo High School.

He said later that he was merely one of thousands of soldiers who helped liberate France.

"This is for all of them,'' he said.

04-05-2007, 03:44 PM	#1
Ordie Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Ordieganda Age: 42 Posts: 12,590	French Patrol Frigate in SF FYI The French patrol frigate "Prairial" is in San Francisco at Pier 30/32 (next to Bay Bridge) from April 5 through April 11. She's a Floreal Class Patrol frigate homeported in Tahiti.

04-05-2007, 05:13 PM	#2
Sharp Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: French RiViera Posts: 1,033	Nice! What were they doing to San Francisco? Just a show? Last edited by Sharp; 04-06-2007 at 05:49 PM. Reason: english corrections

04-05-2007, 06:20 PM	#3
ronnieraygun I love goats; goats love me Join Date: Feb 2006 Age: 36 Posts: 5,398	Tahitipresse) - A 10h00 sonnante, lundi matin, la frégate de surveillance "Prairial" a quitté Papeete pour une mission de trois mois dans l'est du Pacifique via la zone économique française de Clipperton. Commandé par le capitaine de frégate Frédéric de Rupilly, le "Prairial" est en route pour une mission d'une centaine de jours qui commencera par une escale aux Marquises. "Ce périple est à la fois diplomatique et l'opportunité d'oeuvrer avec les marines du Pacifique" a informé le commissaire principal Ameye. Le bâtiment de la Marine nationale poursuite son voyage sur San Francisco (USA), puis Cabo San Lucas (Mexique). Il mènera à cette occasion une mission de surveillance dans la zone économique exclusive de Clipperton. En décembre dernier le "Prairial" avait interpellé au large de Clipperton deux bâtiments de pêche au cours de sa mission de contrôle des pêches illicites dans la zone économique exclusive de Clipperton. "L'atoll de la Passion", comme on le nomme plus communément, et bien qu'il s'étend sur 7 km2, donne près de 430 000 km² de zone économique exclusive à la France. Une zone pillée par les pêcheurs de différentes nationalités. Un accord entre la France et le Mexique est en cours concernant la pêche autour de cet atoll français. Le "Prairial" rejoindra également Golfito (Costa Rica), Balbao (Panama), Guayaquil (Équateur), Mejillones (Bolivie), Iquique (Chili) et sur le chemin du retour en Polynésie française, l'île de Pâques (Rapa Nui). Durant ce périple, la frégate prendra régulièrement part à des exercices conjoints avec les marines des pays hôtes, notamment à l'exercice "Team Work South" au large du Chili. Le "Prairial" qui a embarqué quatre-vingt dix hommes d'équipage sera de retour le 2 juillet à Papeete.

04-05-2007, 06:56 PM	#4
ronnieraygun I love goats; goats love me Join Date: Feb 2006 Age: 36 Posts: 5,398	It had been to Seattle. It is going also to Mexico. This says it is part of an exercise and it is passing through the Clipperton economic zone. It had been there before, interdicting illegal fishing. France has rights in this area. It will join other vessels of host nations in exercises and also be in an exercise off Chile in "Teamwork South." Clipperton is also another interesting little story. I'm surprised no one brought it up in some of the Falklands discussions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipperton_Island

04-05-2007, 08:23 PM	#5
Ordie Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Ordieganda Age: 42 Posts: 12,590	It sounds like a fantastic cruise!! Last time she was here I had a tour. Half the crew were Tahitians doing thier military service. The hangar is large enough to fit a Puma, but they had a rare Alouette III on board. The passageways were named after streets in Paris with the typical French Street sign painted on the bulkheads.(Nice touch). I like the concept of forward deployed patrol frigates. It's something that the USN should consider in places such as Kodiak, Pago Pago, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Singapore. Mixed USNR/USCG local crews who know the area and sail to local ports as diplomatic power projection, law enforcement, and force multipliers for the fleet.

04-06-2007, 03:13 AM	#6
Nizark Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Inbetween the light and dark Posts: 2,949	based in Tahiti...must be rough

04-06-2007, 04:35 AM	#7
Galileo Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Strathcona, Alberta, CA Age: 44 Posts: 840	I spent 3 years in tahiti : after 6 months you have see all in the island , 6 more month to visit the nearest islands (from Moorea to Bora Bora) and after it more boring not a lot of distraction except girls (between 18 and 22), beach, scuba diving, sailing and Hinano "la biere qui rend idiot" (the local beer).

04-06-2007, 05:44 PM	#8
Ordie Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Ordieganda Age: 42 Posts: 12,590	SAN FRANCISCO French frigate here for a week Warship on way to military exercises off South America Carl Nolte, Chronicle Staff Writer Friday, April 6, 2007 San Francisco Chronicle A small French warship from exotic places dropped by San Francisco on Thursday for a week's visit on its way to military maneuvers off South America. The ship is the frigate Prairial, a trim gray vessel displacing 2,950 tons, carrying an imposing 100mm gun in a turret forward, two Exocet missiles, a helicopter and 92 sailors. In some ways, the Prairial is a throwback to another era: The ship's mission is to patrol the vast southern Pacific Ocean around the islands of French Polynesia. It is an area larger than Europe, said Captaine de Fregate Frederic de Rupilly, 39, the ship's commanding officer. The ship's mission is to maintain a French presence there, to show the flag, and to watch out for smugglers and drug traffickers and to protect the fisheries. "We are a patrol boat,'' said de Rupilly. Incidents are rare, although last year the Prairial had to send a boarding party to a vessel fishing illegally in waters claimed by France off Clipperton Island, a remote, uninhabited atoll. The other vessel had armed men aboard, but gave up after a look at the frigate's guns and a boatload of tough-looking seamen. De Rupilly brought his ship to San Francisco from the Marquesas Islands, a French territory about 2,800 miles from the Golden Gate. "We took 11 days to get here,'' he said. "We did some training, some sea exercises. We were in no hurry.'' He had been to San Francisco before, he said, as a tourist, some years ago. "We came to refuel and to get supplies, and because there is a French community here. And, of course,'' he said diplomatically, "because this is a beautiful city.'' The Prairial, named for a month in the old French revolutionary calendar, sails Wednesday for San Diego, then to several Central and South American ports. The ship will participate in a joint exercise called Teamwork South with U.S., Chilean and Argentine navy ships, and then return to the Marquesas with a stop at Clipperton and Easter Island. If you go: The Prairial is docked at Pier 32, halfway between the Ferry Building and AT&T Park. The ship will be open for public tours from 2 to 5 p.m. today, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

04-08-2007, 07:23 AM	#9
Martel Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Paris, France Posts: 507	http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...G1OP4C3C12.DTL France awards S.F. man top medal More than a lifetime ago, John Orofino was a young soldier on a dangerous scouting mission behind German lines in eastern France. The Allies had broken out of the Normandy beachhead. Gen. George Patton's forces were rolling across France. Orofino's platoon was assigned to see what was ahead. They were 60 to 70 miles ahead of the front when the platoon ran into a strong German force. "It was quite a firefight,'' Orofino remembers. "The lieutenant was shot, the staff sergeant was killed. I was left.'' He was 21, a low-ranking sergeant -- "a buck sergeant,'' he said. He took command, put the wounded on a jeep and led a fighting retreat, holding the Germans off with a machine gun. "I did a John Wayne,'' he said. Orofino was badly wounded himself. He was awarded the Silver Star for heroism. On Thursday, nearly 63 years after that battle in France, the French government presented him with the Legion of Honor in recognition of his services during the war. It is France's highest honor. "France will never forget the American soldiers who risked their lives and gave France back its liberty and its honor in World War II,'' said Frederic Desagneaux, the French consul general in San Francisco. The award was presented, complete with a guard of honor of French sailors, on board the French Navy frigate Prairial, which is on a courtesy call to San Francisco. Orofino is 83 now and lives in the West Portal neighborhood in San Francisco. He taught in San Francisco schools for 33 years, notably as the head of the English department at Galileo High School. He said later that he was merely one of thousands of soldiers who helped liberate France. "This is for all of them,'' he said.