the French Belem sailship is the oldest and largest European sailship still in service;
taken yesterday while leaving the bay of Cannes;

The three masted Belem is the last 19th century French trading ship still under sail.
The Belem was built at Chantenay sur Loire, near Nantes and put to sea in 1896. As a merchant vessel she crossed the Atlantic 33 times from 1896 to 1913. In those days, her single deck covered 153 square metres of hold containing up to 650 tons of goods and merchandise, mainly cocoa from Brazil, rum and sugar from the French West Indies. The only structure built on deck was the galley.

In 1914 the Belem was sold to the Duke of Westminster, turned into a private yacht, refurbished and fitted with engines.
The Belem has a capacity of up to 48 trainees. The ship is also available for functions and private events. She is officially authorised to sail on the Eastern Atlantic, the Channel, the North Sea and the Mediterranean. Special authorisation can be given to sail to further destinations, such as the transatlantic crossing she made to New York in 1986 and her 2002 ?Atlantic Odyssey? to Senegal, Brazil, Martinique and the Azores.

The Belem is also regularly involved in the Tall Ships events as a living symbol of France's naval history, since she carries the French colours, but also as a reminder of the other flags she flew in the course of her long career : the British flag for 38 years, the Italian for 27.