Robe Lighting was invited by the Czech Consulate in Athens, Greece, to create a special lighting scheme for the official launch at Flisvos Marina, Athens of La Grace, a replica of the famous 17th century corsair (pirate) ship captained by Czech seafarer Augustin Heřman.
The vessel has been recreated by a group of Czech enthusiasts in a shipyard in Suez, Egypt, which still uses historic and traditional building methods.
The pre-planning and research for the project took three years and the actual construction process another two years. The new La Grace will serve a multi-functional international role as a sea cadet training facility and as a tourist attraction worldwide.
Robe managing director Josef Valchar said: "We had many visual elements to consider for the inauguration ceremony lighting scheme.
"The fabulous setting was one, then there was the colour and texture of the sails, the wooden materials making up the boat, her elegant shape and contours, all of which amounted very much to a 'personality'".
Marketing manager Jiri Baros added: "Very much central to our lighting design was the desire to enhance La Grace as she was, retain her natural beauty, and ensure that the lighting was chic, theatrical and dramatic.
"It could not be overpowering, but at the same time we had to make La Grace even more spectacular for this occasion."
The major part of the vessel's hull and the sails were illuminated by four Robe CitySkape Xtremes, a high powered outdoor LED fixture with 188 homogenised RGBW LEDs, positioned on the quayside. The two masts - made out of trees from the Czech Moravian highlands, the region in which Robe's factory is located - were up-lit by four Robe CitySource 96s.
The decks and four replica cannon were bathed in light from four CitySkape 48s, making a dramatic contrast, and evoking the mood of the original La Grace's successful working days as a 'privateer' vessel.
The spanker sail at the back was used as a projection surface, fed with images by a Robe DigitalSpot 7000 DT rigged on a stand on the quayside. This enabled a wide variety of environmental scenes to be created - fire, water, stars, skies, etc. During the launch ceremony itself, statistics and information about the build process and the methods used were projected onto the sail.
All the fixtures were controlled via an Avolites Tiger Touch console.
As part of the launch event entertainment programme, La Grace was open for public viewing for two days complete with a crew of pirates on board who staged shows and mock battles.
