The ‘Juan Sebastián de Elcano’ starts the second stage of her 85th Training Cruise

The ‘Juan Sebastián de Elcano’ has set sail to start the second stage of her midshipmen training cruise where they continue with their 4th year studies on board. The Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral General Jaime Muñoz-Delgado bid the ship farewell in Cadiz.

In the course of the four-month cruise, the ship is scheduled to cross the Atlantic Ocean twice and call at the following ports: Tenerife (Canary Islands), Praia (Cape Verde), Cartagena de Indias (Colombia), Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), New York (USA), Dublin (Ireland), Hamburg (Germany) and Oslo (Norway).

Oslo will be the northernmost port of call the ship has ever made in her 86 years of existence. From there the ship will sail to her final destination, the Naval Academy in Marín (Pontevedra).

This is also the first time a University lecturer travels on board; an Industrial Engineer who will teach and instruct the future Naval Officers and help them obtain a university degree (Mechanical Engineering branch).

Midshipmen will receive both practical and theoretical classes on a series of technical, naval and cultural subjects. Apart from their professional training, they also build up close relationships thanks to the extraordinary atmosphere on board and enjoy the opportunity to cultivate specific virtues, principles and other naval customs.

The ‘Juan Sebastián de Elcano’ is a four-masted brig-schooner. Her main features are: overall length 113 meters, beam 13 meters, and a total sail surface of 3,151 square meters. The commanding officer of the ‘Juan Sebastián de Elcano’ is Captain Enrique Torres Piñeyro, and her crew consists of 26 officers plus a university lecturer, 23 NCOs, 140 leading seamen and ratings, and 5 civilians.