Life aboard the Nao Victoria

The Replica of the Nao Victoria

In 2004, to commemorate the first voyage around the world made between 1519 and 1522, a replica of the Nao Victoria set sail from Seville to travel around the globe again.

From 2004 to 2006, it sailed 26,894 miles and visited 17 countries. It was the first historical replica to circumnavigate the earth.

The boat was built in Spain in 1991 following extensive historical research led by Ignacio Fernández Vidal, its designer and builder.

Let's join the crew on this special voyage.

Spanish sailors navigated the oceans of the world with the help of instruments of the time like the astrolabe and cross-staff, using them to work out their position from the height of the sun.

Letting out all the sails to the winds powering them to their destination. The six sails of the Nao Victoria had a total surface area of 3,078 square feet (286 square meters): mainsail, topsail, foresail, fore-topsail, mizzen sail, spritsail and sprit-topsail. The boat had an average speed of 3.5 knots.

Storms would happen suddenly at sea. They had to be faced and weathered as best was possible by lying ahull, quickly downing sails and lowering the yardarm.

There were no loose objects that could move and hit a member of the crew. Bilge pumps worked constantly to remove sea and storm water.

All crew members would be on duty to carry out instructions with precision and resolve. All that could be done was to withstand and endure the elements.

Crews felt tiny before an Atlantic storm. The boat would shake as the waves battered against it and water crashed onto the deck, covering the yardarm of the mainsail on both sides.

The lack of wind, the heat and humidity were all unbearable out at sea on these tar-painted boats.

Buckets of salted water didn't bring crews any relief either. They feared boredom and calm almost as much as the storms.

Respite only came with nightfall when the sun gave way to the starry night.

At night time, three watch groups were organised to look after the boat. The boat didn't rest, travelling miles overnight.

The others would seek comfort where they could in the few free spaces on deck, finding barely any rest on their thin mat.

The boat would fall silent, and the movement of the sea and creak of the timbers would rock the crew while they slept for a few hours.

"I may be too late to be the best fisherman in the world, but I still have time to be the one who has the most fun fishing."

And when the Atlantic gives you the chance to eat fresh, healthy food after three days of rice, life looks different. "So go fish, especially if you're having a run of good luck, because tomorrow there may be no fish."

Crossing the Pacific is one of the longest seafaring journeys. An ocean that covers one third of the earth's surface and that touches all the continents on the planet.

The Nao Victoria was the first european boat to cross it: more than 10,000 nautical miles—100 days of sailing.

Only sailors know how hard it can be to be alone, without fresh food on board, for days on end. When supplies ran low, the diet on board became tedious, with meals few and far between.

So, on arriving in new lands, exchanging produce with their inhabitants was vital. Fish, fruit, and vegetables, fresh food that filled the men's bellies and lifted their spirits.

After weeks and months at sea, with only the horizon ahead—land!

Joy at finishing the long voyage, happy to rest a little and to finally walk on solid ground. But anxiety and uncertainty too. What would there be in those unknown lands? What would they be like? What would they find? And how would their inhabitants greet them?