Two and a half years after its last visit, the Navy training ship is back in Port of Barcelona. This time, without aspirants, since the next training cruise, the 97th, will not start until next January. “The objective is to support the city and contribute, if possible, to giving more visibility to the Sailing America’s Cup,” said Tuesday the commander of the brig-schooner, Captain Luis Carreras-Presas do Campo, after emphasizing that “The Juan Sebastián de Elcano is the ship of all Spaniards“.
It will remain moored in the Catalan capital until September 14. By then, it hopes to receive more than 9,000 visitors. Tickets to walk around its terrace sold out in just a few hours. The same thing happened on its penultimate visit. “People come with great enthusiasm. We welcome them with joy because it reinforces the motivation with which they come to see this training ship,” celebrated Carreras-Presas. This is the eleventh time that Elcano has stopped in Barcelona. The first time it did so was in 1929.
The Navy training ship in the port of Barcelona this Tuesday
This morning, in front of the ship, its captain said that he was not surprised by the interest it arouses, because “it is very loved wherever it goes. In Spanish cities more if possible, but also in other countries. In its almost 100 years of existence – it will celebrate its anniversary in 2027 – Elcano has visited more than 75 countries, 205 cities and already exceeds 1,200 port calls. On September 14, before leaving Barcelona, the ship will return to the regatta field, as last Saturday, where it was already sailing alongside the classic yachts of the Puig regatta.
After 10am, in addition to some agents of the Mossos d’Esquadra who visited the ship, children from the Sant Joan de Déu hospital were running around on deck, accompanied by their families. “Pirate in the water,” joked one of the youngest children from the bow, along with two others, while their parents listened to the crew’s explanations about the history of the Navy’s flagship, 113 metres long and 13 metres long.
Its main mission, in addition to being a floating embassy, is the training of aspirants; future officers. “The young person who is training to be a sailor must be in contact with sailing, which is why we promote it in all our schools and training centers. Elcano is an example of this. Having a training ship that is a large sailboat, that does traditional navigation, that maneuvers practically by hand, a rig of 20 sails, traditional astronomical navigation, is an example of the importance that the Navy gives it. “We have been using this training ship for almost 100 years,” boasts its commander. The objective: “Defend Spain from and to the sea“.
