Spanish galleon delights visitors
5,000 expected to visit ship replica docked at the Hudson River Maritime Museum through Tuesday
KINGSTON, N.Y. » Scores of people toured El Galeón Andalucia, a replica of a Spanish galleon at the Hudson River Maritime Museum Sunday in the second day of the ship’s four-day visit to the Rondout section of Kingston.
Guests could go above deck and peer up at the rigging for the sails on the ships two masts that reach upwards of 75 feet into the air.
Up a few stairs toward the front of ships bow was a higher deck that held two anchors that weigh just under a ton each. Towards the rear of the ship, visitors could have their picture taken hold- ing the ship’s wheel. Below this raised deck guests could peer into a sleeping quarter and a large dining room.
The tour then wound down below deck to the gun deck, which contained several rows of “eight-pound” cannons on each side, so called because the cannon ball for them weighed eight pounds.
Plaques in English and Spanish, touch screens and several video monitors added a modern touch to telling the story of the sailors who worked in lived on galleons and how they revolutionized global trade.
Another deck down featured a theater that played a movie about the years-long reconstruction of the ship.
Sara Wassberg, the Hudson River Maritime Museum’s director of education, said she expected 5,000 people to tour the ship across its four days in Kingston.
Wassberg said galleons, which plied the seas between the 16th and the 18th centuries, were heavily-armed merchant ships that carried valuable cargo, including spices and gold and silver.
While these ships probably didn’t find their way to the Hudson Valley, they gave the Spanish a near-monopoly of trade between Europe and Asia, forcing explorers, like Henry Hudson who sailed for the Dutch, to sail West in search of another route to Asia, Wassberg said.
Bosco Buano, who is from Spain and handles public relations for the ship, said it took 27 days to sail from Spain to the U.S.
Buano said the ship, which made its debut in November 2009 after three years of research followed by construction, has more than 7 miles of rope in its rigging.
For more than 200 years these vessels plied the seas in merchant trade carrying both cargo and sometimes 100 to 200 people, Buano said.
The founders of St. Augustine in Florida came aboard galleons, he added.
Today the ship has a crew that ranges anywhere from 18 to 32 people.
Spain pioneered a “maritime culture” among Europeans, “The British and French became bigger, but the Spanish were first,” Buano said.
As the ship’s bell tolled three times for lunch, crew member Janye Lansford, who lives on a sailboat, was helping people on and off the ship.
Lansford said she travels with the ship during the summer for three to four months when it is touring the U.S. and Canada.
Lansford said the life of sailor goes between fun, boring and sometimes outright scary.
She works on the ship with her husband, who started as a carpenter.
Lansford said she had the opportunity to steer the ship around Manhattan, which was both exciting and scary.
“There are lots of small craft, jet skis, that want to get real close,” Landsford said.
This adds an extra challenge because El Galeon tips the scales at 496 tons.
“We can’t stop,” Lansford said.
Also among the crew members was Alex Borras, of Mallorca, Spain, who has sailed with the ship for one and a half years.
“I like traveling and visiting all of the these places and getting to know different cultures,” Borras said.
He admitted he hadn’t had a chance to see Kingston yet, but he planned to on Monday when he has a
day off.
Tara Brock, of Wappingers Falls, came because she wanted to show her kids Aslan, 8, and Kriselle 6, the history.
“It looks impressive, the cannons are impressive the sails are impressive,” Brock said.
Caitlin Stuckey, of Albany, said she loves studying the history of European royalty. She came out with family.
“It’s great history fans and family can enjoy this,” Stuckey said.
Aidan Winecoff, 8, and his brother Brady, 7, of Ellenville, toured the ship with their dad, Stefan Winecoff.
Aidan said it was really cool, even if it was bit scary bellow deck, but that didn’t stop the two brothers from dreaming about the sea.
“I would want to sail to feel what it’s like to sail,” Aidan Winecoff said.
Deck tours are available Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children aged 5-11, and children under 5 are free. Tickets may be purchased online at http:// www.hrmm.org/ or at the docks.