Boats these days are missing something. Not anything to do with safety or aerodynamics – we’ve seemingly mastered those – but something much harder to explain. They lack a sort of je ne sais quoi; they just don’t pay enough attention to style anymore. But luckily, that’s exactly what the galeón Andalucia, which is just about to dock in the UK, has boatloads of.
The original boat was built in the 17th century and sailed the seas until the 1800s. The current boat is a modern replica, which was built to look and function exactly like its historic predecessor, so while it’s not technically an old ship, it may as well be.
The Andalucia is currently on a huge tour of Europe, and is stopping off in Dover this week so us Brits can get a proper look. The Nao Victoria Foundation (Fundación Nao Victoria), the non-profit that funded and built it, describe the vessel as a ‘floating museum of maritime culture’ – and given the attention to detail on this thing, it’s not hard to see why.
She’s a whopping six decks tall and 48m long, with billowing sails and old fashioned portholes. The Andalucia looks exactly like the sort of pirate ship you would have played with as a child, except it’s huge and took nearly five years to fully construct.
Dover is the final place in the UK you’ll be able to see the Andalucia; she’s already made stops in Bristol – where another historic ship is about to get a makeover – and Penzance. She’ll be docked at Dover between August 6 and August 10, and there’s still tickets available for every day.
A spokesperson for the Port of Dover said that it is ‘proud to be welcoming such an iconic ship to our marina’, and that it is excited to see ‘different generations of visitors being immersed in the wonders of the Galeón Andalucia and its inspiring story’.
If you fancy a day pretending to be a 1600s sailor – because who doesn’t – you can book your tickets here.
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