El Galeon Andalucia, Spanish Replica Ship, Comes to Kingston August 5-8, 2017

This just in: The Hudson River Maritime Museum has received word that the 2009 replica ship El Galeon Andalucia will be docking at the Museum and will be open to the public for deck tours Saturday, August 5th through Tuesday, August 8th. Deck tours will be available for adults ($10), children aged 5-11 ($5), and free for children under the age of 5. She is also available to stage special dinner events or corporate presentations which can be coordinated through the Hudson River Maritime Museum. Details coming soon!

The Galeon Andalucia is a replica ship built in 2009 modeled after the type of vessel used by the Spanish Crown for maritime expeditions during the 16th through the 18th centuries. Galleons were intended to discover and then establish trade routes between Spain, America and the Philippines islands. These merchant vessels were armed with tonnages ranging from 500 to 1,200 and lengths ranging from 130 to 200 feet. Considered innovative for their time, they were designed to cross the largest oceans as efficiently as possible.

Researchers required three years to compile all the necessary information about galleons' shapes, details, and measures so that a replica could be built. The historical research done in maritime archives in Spain was followed by structural design, which took six months. Construction of the vessel lasted over seventeen months and employed 150 people until her launching in Punta Umbria (Huelva, Spain) in November of 2009. The replica was designed and built by Ignacio Fernandez Vial, a navel engineer and historian, commissioned by the ship's owner, Nao Victoria Foundation.

During construction the hull and decks were built up in layers of fiberglass and after that the whole structure was lined with wood. This completely original and innovative technique was the first time this method was applied to any ship heavier than 500 tons meant for sailing.

Since her launching, a crew of fifteen to thirty-five people have manned her across the seas and oceans of the world. She has navigated the Pacific and Indian Oceans, crossed the Atlantic, and traveled the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the South and East China Seas, the Aegean Sea and the Caribbean.

Some facts about the El Galeon Andalucia:

• Fifty-ton Spanish galleon
  
• 164 feet length, overall
  
• 33 foot main beam
  
• 10.5 foot draft
  
• Four masts hold six sails measuring almost 11,000 square feet
  
• Average speed - 7 knots
  
• Crew size - 15-35 people