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tall ships DRAW THOUSANDS<br />
This <strong>May</strong>, not one, but two<br />
special ships visited <strong>Port</strong><br />
<strong>Canaveral</strong> to commemorate<br />
the 500th anniversary of the<br />
landing of Spanish explorer<br />
Juan Ponce de Leon on<br />
Florida’s east coast. Both<br />
made multiple stops at the<br />
state’s Atlantic seaports<br />
as part of Florida’s Viva<br />
500 celebration, but <strong>Port</strong><br />
<strong>Canaveral</strong> was the only<br />
Florida port to host both<br />
graceful tall ships at the<br />
same time.<br />
Cannons For<br />
Protection Only<br />
The first tall ship to arrive was the Galeón<br />
Andalucía. Jetty Park is a popular site<br />
from which to watch new ships enter<br />
the harbor, but El Galeón created more<br />
excitement than usual when she arrived<br />
on the morning of <strong>May</strong> 1 for a 12-day<br />
visit. Only a few bars of appropriate<br />
swashbuckling music were needed to<br />
convince watchers they had stumbled<br />
into a pirate movie.<br />
Six years of research went into<br />
designing the Galeón to replicate a<br />
17th century Spanish merchant ship.<br />
Fundación Nao Victoria, a Spanish<br />
non-profit organization dedicated to<br />
maritime history, designed the ship and<br />
constructed it in 2008-2010. Beneath<br />
the gleaming wooden outer skin lies a<br />
fiberglass-polyester hull and the sails<br />
have a safety backup – a modern ship’s<br />
engine – but the visible details were<br />
designed for historical accuracy.<br />
Educational Treasure<br />
The Galeón is 180 feet long, with six<br />
decks, three masts and a crew of about<br />
25. From her seven billowing sails and<br />
spider web of rigging to the 12 cannons<br />
on her gun deck (for protection during<br />
trade voyages to the New World), the<br />
fine furnishings of the captain’s quarters<br />
and her replicated map collection, the<br />
Galeón is a lesson in history.<br />
Among the many visitors who took<br />
advantage of the opportunity to tour<br />
this unique ship were more than 4,000<br />
Brevard County fourth- and fifth-graders<br />
who, in conjunction with the <strong>Port</strong>’s<br />
EMBARK program, explored the vessel<br />
while it was docked in The Cove.<br />
Royal Trainer<br />
The next special vessel to arrive was<br />
nearly 200 feet longer than the smaller<br />
Galeón, built of modern steel and billed<br />
as the third tallest ship in the world. From<br />
<strong>May</strong> 8-10, the Juan Sebastián de Elcano,<br />
4<br />
<strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2013</strong> PORT CANAVERAL
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