“Giorgio Cini” is towed away from Venice in 19791976: “Giorgio Cini”, once the Cini Foundation's school ship, was put on sale by Venice Shipyards. ASCANF, an association dedicated to the safeguard of old French ships, launched a campaign for the return to France of this particular three master: they recognized the ship as being in fact Belem, the last French 19th century sailing ship who exchanged her original flag for the British one 60 years earlier when she was bought by the Duke of Westminster.
The Caisses d'Epargne commit themselves to Belem's return
Led by one of its members, Dr. Gosse, ASCANF appealed to official circles and public opinion in the hope of obtaining the means to bring Belem back to France. However, although the initiative was warmly and widely welcomed, a nationwide appeal for funds did not give very satisfactory results. So the National Union of Caisses d'Epargne (Savings Banks) and
their General Manager, Jérôme Pichard who was keeping a close eye on the whole process, decided to involve themselves in Belem's return. They obtained the agreement of the French Finance Ministry to put together the necessary funds and negotiate the purchase of the ship from the Italian vendors. An agreement was reached on January 27th 1979.
The Caisses d'Epargne invested 700 000 € in purchasing the three master and having preliminary repairs done to the hull so that it would be fit for the return journey to France.
On August15th, Belem was towed out of Venice harbour by Actif, one of the French Navy's tug-boats.
On August 25th, she reached Toulon, her first French port of call.
On September 5th, Belem left Toulon, towed by the offshore tug L'Elephant
September 17th, Belem entered the port of Brest, greeted by a spectacular naval ceremony, at the end of her great journey home.
Belem is entrusted to a Foundation
The French Navy was involved in the initial project: having taken charge of the return journey, it had also expressed its intention of using the Belem as a school-ship several months a year.
On the basis of this perspective, the promoters of the whole project intended to entrust the management of the ship to a foundation regrouping the Caisses d'Epargne and the French Navy.
But the project of a French Navy school-ship did not go through. Nevertheless, the Belem Foundation was officially set up and registered as a body of public utility on March 13th 1980. In February 1981, the Caisses d'Epargne donated Belem to the Foundation.
Deciding on Belem's future
Since the initial project associating the French Navy to Belem's activities was no longer on the board, it became necessary to work out an operational future for the ship, such as deciding whether Belem should go back to sailing or whether she should become a naval museum at quay.
The sea-faring option was quickly adopted, so initial work on the ship was started at Brest Arsenal with the help of the French Navy. In June 1981, the Foundation decided to transfer Belem to Paris so that she would be more in the eye of the public and the media, and so that refurbishment work could continue under the leadership of the man who was to become her next Commander, Jean Randier.
The ship stayed in Paris for three years.
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