Dartmouth is receiving a special guest this weekend, with the replica Spanish galleon Galeón Andalucía arriving at the town jetty on Friday afternoon, for the public to observe.

The Dartmouth Harbour Master said: “We will be hosting the replica Spanish galleon Galeón Andalucía on the Town Jetty in Dartmouth this weekend, and she will be open to the public.

“We expect her to arrive around 15:00 on Friday, and remain in port until Tuesday morning, being open to the public from 08:00-20:00 on Sat, Sun and Mon.”

The Galeón Andalucía is the replica of the type of vessel used by the Spanish Crown for maritime expeditions from the 16th through to the 18th centuries. Galleons were the most universal Spanish ships, which played the lead on commercial and cultural relationships during more than three centuries between Spain, America and Asia.  

It took three years to research the main historical and maritime archives in Spain and compile all necessary information about galleons’ shapes, details and measures so that this replica could be built. 

Historical research was then followed by structural design, a work that took 6 months, and later on followed the construction of the galleon, which lasted 17 months and employed 150 people until her launching in Punta Umbría (Huelva, Spain) on November, 2009. The replica has been designed and built by Ignacio Fernandez Vial, a naval engineer and historian. It was commissioned by the ship owner, the Nao Victoria Foundation. 

Since her launching, a crew between 15 to 35 people has manned the ship across the seas and oceans around the world.

The vessel has been converted into a floating museum, and is a highly attractive ship with multiple spaces, resources and exhibition infrastructure of immense versatility to host diverse events, presentations, exhibitions etc. 

It was planned that the ship would take in Plymouth (the United Kingdom), Amsterdam and Delfzijl (the Netherlands), Bremerhaven (Germany) and Cherbourg (France) to promote Andalusia as a tourist destination, but the plans have changed and the ship will be heading to Dartmouth this weekend.