Manila/ The training ship of the Spanish Navy “Juan Sebastián Elcano” will conmemorate the 500th anniversary of the first circumnavigation of the globe by retracing the voyage undertaken by the famous Magellan-Elcano expedition.
Exactly 500 years ago, on September 20, 1519, five ships with a crew of over 200 men from different nationalities sailed from Sanlúcar de Barrameda to undertake what would become one of the biggest exploits in the history of humankind. The expedition, led first by Ferdinand Magellan and then by Juan Sebastián Elcano, was organised and financed by the Spanish Crown. It concluded in 1522, when only one ship and 18 men, including Elcano, returned to Spain.
The different stops of the “Juan Sebastián Elcano” have been timed to coincide exactly with the 500th anniversary of the arrival of the original expedition to each location. Thus, the “Juan Sebastián Elcano” will arrive to the Philippines in March 2021, after visiting Brazil next December, followed by Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Guam. After the Philippines, she will continue to Indonesia.
The “Juan Sebastián Elcano” is a four-masted topsail, steel-hulled barquentine launched in 1927, and is the third-largest tall ship in the world. She is named after the Spanish sailor who replaced Ferdinand Magellan as leader of the 1519-1522 expedition, after the Portuguese explorer was killed in Mactan in a battle with the datu Lapu-Lapu.
The “Elcano”, as she is also known, is entrusted with the training of future Spanish Navy officers: the midshipmen. To this end, a six-month training cruise is organised every year, usually sailing outside Spain. Most of the instruction is carried out at sea where midshipmen receive classes and take part in all types of manoeuvres. She has a crew of 197 people and can accommodate up to 78 midshipmen. Of all the cruises she has completed since her commissioning in 1928, ten of them have been around the world. The first such voyage was in 1928-1929.
Embajada de España / Embassy of Spain
27th Floor, BDO Equitable Tower, 8751 Paseo de Roxas, Makati City,
1226 MANILA (Republic of the Philippines)
