Kind winds ushered the French schooner Etoile into St George’s yesterday, four days ahead of her expected arrival.

The eye-catching vessel will be in Bermuda for more than a week as she heads to Saint Pierre and Miquelon for the bicentennial anniversary of the return of the archipelago to France.

Etoile and her French Naval Academy’s sailing crew set sail from Brest on March 20, stopping in the Canary Islands and Cape Verde before arriving in Bermuda.

She is due to continue to New York, Boston and Halifax in Canada before heading to Saint Pierre and Miquelon for the bicentennial celebrations.

The ship was built in 1932 by the French Navy to train its sailors in traditional navigation, crew life and seafaring judgment. Etoile,,/I> which first visited Bermuda in 2009, will be docked at Penno’s Wharf for the rest of the week. Residents and visitors can tour the ship tomorrow, Friday, Saturday and Sunday between 10am and 12pm and next Tuesday at the same time. The vessel will also be open to the public between 2pm and 5pm on Thursday, Friday and Sunday.