“L’Art Divine” is the business name of a new creative enterprise set up by Ricky and Julia Morin of Plaisance for the construction of model Seychellois schooners that have become “collectors items”.
In yester years, schooners were the main means of transportation between the Seychelles Islands of Mahe, Praslin and La Digue, as well as the outer islands. Many of us will fondly recall travelling in them to and from the islands in our youth. Today, very few of these ships are utilized to navigate our waters. Modern vessels have replaced these traditional ships as ferries or cargo boats.
The larger ships that serve the outer islands have all but disappeared. The remnants of the once proud “Isle of Farquhar” are stuck in the muddy plains of Plaisance. On the island of Praslin, we can still find “Curieuse” belonging to the Inter Island Ferry of William Rose, being used as one of the main ferries between Praslin and La Digue. Another former ferry boat “Silhouette” has been sold to Nicolas Boulle and is now docked at Angel Fish Marina.
Aroha, Argo, MiriamHelen, Louis Alfred, Arne are names of known and much loved Seychellois old Schooners and all to scale models are now being built through a joint collaboration between Robert Port Louis and Ricky Morin. The cooperation pulled together the expertise of a model to scale builder and an entrepreneur who wanted to see Seychellois schooners remembered. Today, two schooners (ERO and Revenant) are already available and are on sale to the public.
Each model sold will be accompanied by the story of the schooner printed on a scroll and a Numbered Certificate, making it a prime Collector’s Item and an ideal gift for the nostalgic Seychellois or visitor to the islands.
We congratulate Ricky and Julia Morin for this great initiative, and for introducing beautiful, locally hand-crafted treasures into the market. |
