In the balmy days of the recent northern European summer, I took a passage through the North Sea on a Spanish Galleon harking back to the seventeenth century. The ship was the Galeon Andalucia, one of a number of fascinating replicas of historic vessels operated by the Nao Victoria Foundation highlighting the maritime heritage of Spain. And wow, do they have some maritime heritage!
I first caught sight of her alongside the pretty dock at Veerhaven in central Rotterdam, just near the Erasmus Bridge and not far away from the EuroMast.
Even among the historic ships and boats moored in the dock, she stood out in the late afternoon light; a Galleon!! Everyone that walked past had to stop and take in the view. Some passersby just stood there transfixed, wondering if they had wandered into another century.
It was an amazing sight: broad tumblehome hull lined with cannon ports, three masts with wide yards and furled sails reaching up into the blue Dutch sky; a rearing quarterdeck with a fancy stern lantern and a huge Spanish flag and a high forecastle…it was the real deal.
We were shown to our quarters; a little bunk with a curtain, among a dozen others, some crew already snoring away. There was a galley where meals were prepared and the thirty-odd crew all ate, a couple of showers that were sadly not in use at sea, and a handful of toilets, which of course, you could not put paper down. It was a calm night in the river, I had travelled a fair way to arrive at Rotterdam, and I slept well with dreams of Armadas and spices, the silver of Potosi and trade winds whisking great sailing ships across oceans…
Its seventeen nautical miles up the river from the mouth. And so we set off down the channel to the sea in the golden light of dawn; cool for mid-summer, but hey, we were on the North Sea, at nearly 52 degrees north!
Rotterdam is Europe’s busiest port, loading over 13 million containers – just beating Antwerp – and double third placed Hamburg. Down we steamed, past huge swathes of oil storage and petrochemical plants, an LNG terminal, general docks, marinas, derelict wharves, repair yards, liner terminals, old and new housing estates, until after a couple of hours, we came to the beaches off the Hook Of Holland on our starboard side, and the first of an almost constant series of wind farms.
All the crew on every ship we passed had their binoculars aimed at us, all trying to rationalize the sight before their eyes.
We hooked around the Hook, and swung north, paralleling the distant low coast, endless windfarms to the east. There was clear skies and a soft breeze, but tragically, it came from the north too; right where we were heading. We were on our way to Bremerhaven in Germany. There would be no sails up on this leg, if it didnt swing around to either beam. Square sails need the wind behind them, or at least on the quarter, and the North Sea was not cooperating.
Still, there was lots to do, even without any sails up. The trainees were split into three watches; 12 to 4, 4 to 8, and 8 to 12, each watch managing the ship during its period of duty, twice per day; four hours on, then eight off, and over again. I got 4 to 8, which for me, is the best of the watches because you got both sunset and sunrise, each and every day. And if you like stars, a ship at sea is the absolute best way to take in a view of the heavens. There was a little swabbing of decks, painting of steel booms, little patches of caulking between the timber deck planks to cut out and re-set, fire patrols, some crew got cooking in the galley, and everyone that wanted to could have a spin of the wheel. It was a lovely summer’s day, the sea was calm, the wind on the nose, and the big diesel engines thumped away, pushing us north at about 8 knots.
The Nao Victoria Foundation, based out of historic Seville, supports a squadron of impressive replicas; the most famous, built in 1991 of Glaician oak, a copy of the world’s first circumnavigator, Magellan’s immortal Victoria. She was also heading to the Maritime Fest at Bremerhaven, and we overhauled her late in the passage, much smaller than the great galleon, but an amazing looking vessel in any case; a gem from the sixteenth century.
Like her namesake, she also completed a circumnavigation of the earth, visiting 17 countries from 2004 to 2006, and logging 27,000 miles to become the first replica to complete one lap of the earth. Not a bad feat for such a petite 27 metre long vessel.
The other notable ship in the fleet is the 28 metre replica of Columbus’s Santa Maria from the late fifteenth century; the discoverer of the Americas. Columbus was seeking the spices of the Indies by sailing west, but instead ran into the unknown Americas way back in 1492. She was completed in 2018 of tropical hardwood with a skin of fibreglass, for reduced maintenance.
Together, Santa Maria and Victoria are two of the most important vessels in the history of exploration; the replicas fitting testament to the odysseys of their namesakes.
Galeon Andalucia is a much larger ship at nearly 50 metres. She carries 1000 square metres of sail on her three masts, and has 10 kilometres of rope rigging. She is built to represent the long range, cannon-armed transports that hauled the silver and spices across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans that fed the Spanish Empire from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries.
All these ships, plus some other fine sailing vessels, are available for passages to anyone that likes to sail. Voyages long or short can be booked through the website, and you get to join a fun mixed group of dedicated trainees, volunteers and professional seamen and seawomen on board. Its also a great way to support the Foundation and its work highlighting some glorious maritime heritage. My three-day trip cost €500, which isn’t too bad for a timewarp on summer seas. And much more fun than a cruise liner.
We pulled alongside at Bremerhaven, right amid the old historic harbour, among a flotilla of old sailing ships, with crowds cheering us in. A spectacular thunderstorm built up as we docked and put on an awesome lightning and thunder show right at dusk for us as we got all the intricacies of a tall ship squared away.
It was the city’s big summer festival, and there were stalls galore scattered along the quays and wharves, bustling with crowds, and with bands, bars and cafes busy into the night.
It was a great voyage on the Galeon Andalucia, one to remember fondly. Two hundred and sixty sea miles in two days of steaming. Four sunsets and three sunrises, a placid North Sea, the Perseid meteor shower etched across a sea sky with no manmade light, an epic thunderstorm as welcome and the entrancing gradual changes of weather as you roll across an ocean. A wonderful insight into how a real galleon looks and feels and works, and a rewarding experience mixing with young and eager crew taking time out of busy lives to live an adventure like no other.
I’ll be back on the Andalucia one day, and hopefully there will be wind! From behind this time!
