The Spanish Navy’s training ship ‘Juan Sebastián de Elcano’ arrived at Marín on July 13th to disembark the 69 midshipmen from the 415th Spanish Navy Graduation Class and the 145th Marine Corps Graduation Class and to attend the traditional military celebrations in the Naval Academy on July 16th on the occasion of the festivities of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, patron saint of the Spanish Navy.
During the last six months, the schooner has sailed through the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean and the North Sea travelling 18,000 nautical miles in 149 day’s runs and calling at the following ports: Cagliari (Italy), Mahon, Sète (France), Melilla, Cadiz, Tenerife, Praia (Cape Verde), Cartagena (Colombia), Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), New York (USA), Dublin (Ireland), Hamburg (Germany) and Oslo (Norway).
This was also the first time a University lecturer from the Defense College travelled on board; an Industrial Engineer who taught and instructed the future Naval Officers to help them obtain a civilian university degree (Mechanical Engineering branch).
4th year midshipmen shared the first stage of the cruise with leading seamen who embarked to train and become petty officers (1st class and 2nd class). Five different syllabi were organized for the total number of 100 students.
The ‘Juan Sebastián de Elcano’, apart from her training mission for future naval officers, also contributed to the State External Action policy supporting the Spanish candidature as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council during her stay in New York, and welcoming the President of the Irish Republic on board during the port of call in Dublin.
The ship called at 4 new ports, added to the 170 already visited since 1927: Cagliari, Sète, Praia and Oslo, the latter the northernmost city visited so far. Another milestone was the voyage from Cape Verde to Colombia at full sail travelling more than 3,400 miles in 24 day’s runs.
The ‘Juan Sebastián de Elcano’ has set sail once again, this time towards her home port in San Fernando (Cadiz).