Magellan’s Ship, Trinidad, Sails into Fernandina

Ferdinand Magellan, born on the 4th of February in 1480, was a Portuguese explorer, skilled sailor and naval officer. This week, Magellan’s ship, Trinidad, sails into Fernandina Beach to offer tours on this amazing tall ship.

Portugal’s King Manuel I did not support Magellan’s plan to sail around the American continent, so he proposed the expedition to King Charles I of Spain, who accepted. Magellan moved to Spain, got married, had two children and organized the trip. He was appointed admiral of the Spanish fleet and given command of five ships for his Hispanic loyalty. Those five ships were named Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepcion, Santiago, and Victoria. Magellan also received one of the highest military ranks of the Spanish Empire, Commander of the Order of Santiago.

He is best known for having discovered a navigable sea route in southern Chile while he led the five ships on the Magellan-Elcano expedition. That pass is now known as the Straits of Magellan. During this voyage, Magellan was killed when he ran into resistance by the indigenous people led by Lapulapu. The date was April 27th, 1521; he was only 41 years old. This was the Battle of Mactan in the present-day Philippines, where Lapulapu has become a national symbol of heroism for fighting against colonialism.

Even though Magellan was killed on the expedition, he is still remembered for being the first to circumnavigate the planet, proving of course, the world was not flat. After his death, Captain Juan Sebastian Elcano took over command and led what was left of his crew, in one of two remaining two ships, and completed the first circumnavigation when, aboard the Victoria, he returned to Spain in 1522.

The Trinidad was the flagship of the fleet. She bore square sails on the fore, and originally carried a crew of 61. In 1522, she set sail with a load of cloves with Gonzalo Gomez de Espinosa as her commander. She stopped in the Marianas after ten days, where three of her crew deserted. Espinosa set out again and ran into bad and worsening weather. Thirty men met their deaths when scurvy set in, leaving only 20 to man the ship. The captain gave up and turned the ship back. Portugal authorities set out to find the Trinidad and arrest Magellan. What they found was a crew near death and a ship that was starting to sink. The Trinidad’s sails and rigging were removed. She got caught in a storm and was smashed to pieces.

A replica of the Nao Trinidad was constructed in 2018 to resemble the historic flag ship of the small armada, once commanded by Ferdinand Magellan. She took about 14 months to build and was launched on March 11, 2018. This year, 2022, marks the 500th Anniversary of the world’s first circumnavigation.

Ports in Europe, Mexico and the United States have welcomed this life-sized, floating museum of Spanish maritime history. She weighs 200 gross tons, is 95 feet long, and 26 feet wide. She has five decks, four masts, and five sails.

Tickets are available on the docks at the Oasis Marina at the Fernandina Beach Harbor. Visitors may come aboard the Nao Trinidad to tour her five decks, and see what life may have been like on a ship 500 years ago.

Tickets are now available online at the Nao Trinidad website.

Categorised in: Amelia Island