With his powerful lantern and foghorn, he pointed out to other ships the presence of the dangerous sandbars off Dunkirk harbour.
Commissioned in 1949, BF 6 (Fire Boat 6) was successively called Dyck and Sandettié, named after the sandbars it was responsible for reporting. With each change of assignment, the name painted in large white letters on the hull was changed.
The crew of this ship without destination consisted of 8 men in charge of keeping the boat and its lighting system in good working order, conducting and transmitting weather reports or monitoring vessels passing by.
A page in the maritime history of Dunkirk was turned when, greeted by a concert of sirens, the fire boat Sandettié returned to port for the last time on June 3, 1989.
Owned by the Dunkerque Urban Community since 1997, it was restored and opened to the public in 2006. On a regular basis, special visits are organized with Bernard Quilliot, his former chief engineer.
Duration of the visit: 30 minutes