The sound of the blowing of lambis (conch shells) announced the arrival of Le Francis Garnier in Flamands last week. Everyone wondered, "Why is this military ship right on the beach?!" It turned out that the naval ship, based in Martinique, was on a mission to find accessible beaches in St Barth in case the island suffers a natural catastrophe, such as an earthquake or a hurricane, that destroys the docks in Gustavia and Public and forces the airport to close. The goal was to find beaches that the flat-bottomed boat could access in order to unload men, equipment and supplies necessary for a rescue operation. The two beaches deemed the most accessible are Flamands and Shell Beach in Gustavia. With a maximum speed of 13 knots per hour, it would take the better part of a morning for the ship to reach St Barth The lambis sounded again as they departed, and the ship's crew responded with the ship's horn and a message with it's signal light.