The ‘Juan Sebastián de Elcano’ celebrates her 88th anniversary in Montevideo.

During the port of call of the training ship ‘Juan Sebastián de Elcano’ in Montevideo, the ship celebrated its 88th launching anniversary which took place in Cádiz on March 5th 1927. Since her commissioning, the ship has sailed nearly 2 million nautical miles, or in other words, the equivalent of 35 years sailing non-stop.

The ‘Juan Sebastián de Elcano’ arrived at Montevideo, the second foreign port in her 86th Training Cruise after visiting Rio de Janeiro. This is the 14th time the ship calls at the capital city of Uruguay; the last time was in 2010 when the ship took part in the Tall Ships Race ‘Velas de Sudamérica 2010’.

The ship was welcomed at the pier by the Spanish Ambassador Roberto Varela, the Commander in Chief of the Uruguayan Navy and the Intendant of Montevideo, among other authorities.

During the scheduled pot of call, the crew and midshipmen took part in many cultural, professional and social activities, including a visit to the Uruguayan Naval Academy, a conference on the presence of the Spanish Navy in Río de la Plata in the 18th and 19th centuries delivered by professor Ana Ribeiro at the Spanish Cultural Center, and wreath-laying ceremonies at the monuments of General Artigas and Isabella I of Castile in the old city quarters.

The ship was opened to the public and received the visit of more than 4,000 people. Thirty Spanish citizens had the privilege of pledging allegiance to the flag on the ship’s deck in the course of a simple but moving military ceremony.

Supporting the State’s External Action, the crew and midshipmen attended the traditional reception on board for thirty Ambassadors from different nations, as well as other authorities and prominent personalities of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay.

The ‘Juan Sebastián de Elcano’ is currently sailing towards the Strait of Magellan. The next scheduled port of call is Punta Arenas in Chile.