''Juan Sebastián de Elcano'' is a

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classr ...

of the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

. It is a four-masted topsail, steel-hulled

barquentine A barquentine or schooner barque (alternatively "barkentine" or "schooner bark") is a sailing vessel with three or more masts; with a square rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main, mizzen and any other masts. Modern barquentine sailing r ...

( schooner barque). At long, it is the third-largest

tall ship A tall ship is a large, traditionally- rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a race or fe ...

in the world, and is the sailing vessel that has sailed the furthest, covering more than in its lifetime. It is named after Spanish explorer

Juan Sebastián Elcano Juan Sebastián Elcano (Elkano in modern Basque; sometimes given as ''del Cano''; 1486/1487Some sources state that he was born in 1476. Most of this sources try to make a point about him participating on a military campaign at the Mediterranean w ...

, captain of

Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East ...

's last exploratory fleet and the man who completed the first circumnavigation of the world. The ship carries the Elcano

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

, which was granted to the family by Emperor Charles I following Elcano's return in 1522 from Magellan's global expedition. The coat of arms is a globe with the motto "Primus Circumdedisti Me" (meaning: "First to

circumnavigate Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circumnavigation of the Earth was the Magel ...

me").

Build and design

''Juan Sebastián de Elcano'' was built in 1927 in Cadiz, Spain, and its hull was designed by the naval architect Mr C E Nicholson of Camper and Nicholsons Ltd of

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. Constructed by Echevarrieta y Larrinaga shipyard in Cadiz. After the proclamation of the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII, and was di ...

in April 1931 the ship became part of the

Spanish Republican Navy The Spanish Republican Navy was the Navy, naval arm of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces, Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. History In the same manner as the othe ...

. In 1933 under Commander Salvador Moreno Fernández's order, a series of improvements were made to the ship and the bronze plate with the

Latin language Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

inscription ''Tu Primus Circumdedisti Me'' was placed near the prow. At the time of the coup of July 1936 ''Juan Sebastián de Elcano'' was in

Ferrol Ferrol may refer to: Places * Ferrol (comarca), a coastal region in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain * Ferrol, Spain, industrial city and naval station in Galicia, Spain ** Racing de Ferrol, an association football club * Ferrol, Romblon, municipality in ...

, a harbor that had been taken by the

Nationalist faction The Nationalist faction ( es, Bando nacional) or Rebel faction ( es, Bando sublevado) was a major faction in the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939. It was composed of a variety of right-leaning political groups that supported the Spanish Coup ...

. Its plans were used twenty-five years later to construct its

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an sail training vessel sister ship ''Esmeralda'' in 1952–1954.

Maiden voyage

It conducted sea trials between April and July that year from Cádiz to

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

, with

King Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alf ...

on board as a passenger, and then on to

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Gua ...

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spain, Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in th ...

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...

, Cádiz,

São Vicente, Cape Verde São Vicente (Portuguese for " Saint Vincent") is one of the Barlavento Islands, the northern group within the Cape Verde archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, off the West African coast. It is located between the islands of Santo Antão and Sant ...

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, Buenos Aires, Cape Town,

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Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Suva, San Francisco, California,

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Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Cádiz.

Naval Commanders of Juan Sebastián Elcano

Commanders that have been in charge of ''Juan Sebastián Elcano'' for crossings and instruction. Relación de Comandantes de J. S. de Elcano en sus cruceros de instrucción, autor.
Ministerio de Defensa, fechaacceso * Manuel de Mendivil y Elio. 29 September 1927 * Claudio Lago de Lanzos y Díaz. 4 June 1929 * Joaquín López Cortijo. 5 June 1931 * Salvador Moreno Fernández. 7 June 1933 * Cristóbal González-Aller y Acebal. 24 June 1935 * Fernando Meléndez Bojart. 15 December * Pedro Sans Torres. 20 December 1940 * Camilo Carrero Blanco. 17 January 1942 * Antonio Blanco García. 24 November 1942 * Leopoldo Boado Endeiza. 27 June 1944 * Manuel de la Puente y Magallanes. 18 July 1946 * Álvaro de Urzáiz y de Silva. 15 July 1948 * Luis Cebreiro Blanco. 3 August 1950 * Gonzalo Díaz García. 15 July 1952 * José Yusty Pita. 19 August 1953 * José Ramón González López. 20 July 1955 * Miguel Domingo Sotelo. 27 August 1958 * José Díaz Cuñado. 26 September 1960 * Teodoro de Leste y Cisneros. 22 December 1961 * Francisco Javier de Elizalde y Laínez. 6 August 1963 * Salvador Vázquez Durán. 18 November 1964 * Francisco Gil de Sola Caballero. 17 August 1966 * Álvaro Fontanals Baron. 20 September 1968 * Agustín Rosety Caro. 1 August 1970 * Ricardo Vallespín Raurell. 28 September 1971 * Marcial Fournier Palicio. 1 September 1973 * Antonio Nalda y Díaz de Tuesta. 26 September 1975 * Ángel Luis Díaz del Río y Martínez. 3 October 1977 * Ignacio Cela Diz. 3 de October 1979 * Cristóbal Colón de Carvajal y Maroto. 7 January 1981 * Rafael Ceñal Fernández. 30 October 1982 * Manuel de la Puente y Sicre. 19 August 1983 * Antonio Diufain de Alba. 23 August 1984 * Rafael Martí Narbona. 15 November 1985 * Gabriel Portal Antón. 10 July 1987 * José Alejandro Artal Delgado. 25 November 1988 * Pedro Lapique Quiñones. 3 October 1989 * Rafael Vallejo Ruiz. 4 October 1991 * Ángel Tajuelo Pardo de Andrade. 1 October 1992 * Juan José González-Irún Sánchez. 8 October 1993 * Antonio González-Aller Suevos. 4 October 1994 * Manuel Calvo Freijomil. 15 September 1995 * Sebastián Zaragoza Soto. 18 September 1996 * Teodoro de Leste Contreras. 2 October 1997 * Constantino Lobo Franco. 11 September 1998 * Juan C. Muñoz-Delgado Díaz del Río. 8 October 1999 * Jaime Rodríguez-Toubes Núñez. 6 October 2000 * Manuel Rebollo García. 5 October 2001 * Santiago Bolívar Piñeiro. 4 October 2002 * Juan F. Martínez Núñez. 3 October 2003 * Luis Cayetano y Garrido. 29 September 2004 * Salvador M. Delgado Moreno. 29 September 2005 * Javier Romero Caramelo. 21 September 2007 * Manuel de la Puente Mora-Figueroa. 25 September 2009 * Alfonso Carlos Gómez Fernández de Córdoba. 23 September 2011 * Enrique Torres Piñeyro. September 2013

Build and design

Maiden voyage

Naval Commanders of Juan Sebastián Elcano

See also