In partnership with the Maritime Museum of San Diego and Old Spanish Days Fiesta, the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum is pleased to announce the arrival of the galleon replica San Salvador into port for the 2023 Santa Barbara Old Spanish Days Fiesta.
San Salvador is a full-scale sixteenth century replica of the flagship used by Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo during the first European voyage to make contact with the Indigenous Native Americans here while exploring what would one day become the West Coast of the United States. The ship will be available for free public tours at the city pier at Santa Barbara Harbor on Saturday, August 5, 2023, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and Sunday, August 6, 2023, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Meticulously constructed by the Maritime Museum of San Diego over six years and US Coast Guard Certified, San Salvador is one of very few early modern replica ships in which members of the public can glimpse through experience what seafaring beyond the known world was like half a millennium ago. The San Salvador vessel represents a time and experience in Pacific maritime history for adventurers young and old. This is her first voyage since 2019 due to the pandemic.
As Cabrillo’s ship did five hundred years ago, the San Salvador will be greeted at sea by area Chumash in their replica of a historic tomol. This historic re-enactment will take place on Friday, August 4 at 10:30 a.m. in the waters on the west side of Stearns Wharf.
The San Salvador’s visit is generously sponsored by the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, Old Spanish Days in Santa Barbara, Rick Oshay, and Teresa Kuskey.
Image courtesy of Jerry Soto.
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