The ‘Juan Sebastián de Elcano’ arrives at Puerto Rico with the mortal remains of the 19th Century MP Ramón Power

The training ship ‘Juan Sebastián de Elcano’ has just arrived at San Juan de Puerto Rico, her first port-call in America as part of her 84th Training Cruise. She departed Las Palmas (Canary Islands) on March 10th.

The ship carries the mortal remains of Ramón Power y Giralt, the Puerto Rican member of the 1812 Cadiz Parliament. Ramón Power passed away in that city in 1813.

On arrival at San Juan Bay, the ‘Juan Sebastián de Elcano’ saluted the city with 21 salvos in front of Morro Castle.

After mooring the ship, the remains of Ramón Power were lowered during a funeral service with military honors. The ceremony was presided over by the Governor of Puerto Rico. The crew of the ship handed over the casket with the remains of the MP to the Puerto Rican Authorities in the La Puntilla chapel.

Sailing the Atlantic

The transit from Las Palmas to San Juan, 3,600 nautical miles, took 28 days. Most of the voyage, nearly 90% of the time, was at full sail with speeds of up to 11 knots.

Since her departure from the Canary Islands, this four-mast schooner sailed southwards following the Trade Winds and reaching the proximity of Cape Verde. From there, and with prevailing east winds, the ship proceeded to the Caribbean Sea. Before arriving at Puerto Rico, the ‘Juan Sebastián de Elcano’ put in at the Virgin Islands.

Land ho!

It is a tradition to award the ‘Rodrigo de Triana prize’ to the first crew member to spot land with the traditional Land Ho! The prize is named after the sailor who first saw American land during the first voyage of Christopher Columbus to the New Continent. On this occasion, the prize was awarded to leading seaman Jesús Cabañas. On April 4th, at dawn, he caught a glimpse of Anguilla Island.

After visiting San Juan, the ship will cross the Panama Canal and call at Balboa in the Pacific coast to take part in the festivities to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the discovery of this Ocean.