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High & mighty

NEWBURYPORT, Mass. – Five hundred years ago, huge sailing ships plied the oceans. Called galleons, they fought wars, transported cargo between European ports and protected smaller ships from pirates.

Longer, lower and narrower than earlier kinds of vessels, they were designed to be faster and more maneuverable.

One notable galleon was the Golden Hind, the English ship in which Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe. Another was used by Britain to fight the Spanish Armada.

This year, people from all over the world have a chance to see and explore a full-scale replica of these remarkable vessels. A nonprofit called the Nao Victoria Foundation built El Galeon in 2009, and it has been sailing the world, covering more than 35,000 nautical miles under the Spanish flag.

El Galeon has sailed across the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans, as well as the Mediterranean, Red, South China and Aegean seas, the Bosphorus Strait and the Caribbean. So far, visitors have been able to step on its decks in almost 50 ports all over the world.

A couple days before Memorial Day weekend, El Galeon sailed into the Merrimack River and was anchored behind the Custom House Maritime Museum in Newburyport, towering over the boardwalk, its tall masts and rigging visible from many parts of the city.

From there, it was scheduled to sail to downtown Portland. Maine, until June 13, and then on to the Great Lakes.

In Newburyport, thousands of people, including 1,700 schoolchildren, were able to climb onboard, inspect the ship and ask questions of the dozen or more crew members. They could see the difference between a quarterdeck, main deck and poop deck, and learn how crews pinpointed their location and measured their speed without the help of electronic gadgets. They could see where the crew and captain ate and slept.

Most of all, they could get a feel for what it was like to travel the world 500 years ago.

For more information about El Galeon, visit www.fundacionnaovictoria.org,

Kathy Cleveland can be reached at 673-3100 or kcleveland@cabinet.com.

High & mighty

NEWBURYPORT, Mass. – Five hundred years ago, huge sailing ships plied the oceans. Called galleons, they fought wars, transported cargo between European ports and protected smaller ships from pirates.

Longer, lower and narrower than earlier kinds of vessels, they were designed to be faster and more maneuverable.

One notable galleon was the Golden Hind, the English ship in which Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe. Another was used by Britain to fight the Spanish Armada.

This year, people from all over the world have a chance to see and explore a full-scale replica of these remarkable vessels. A nonprofit called the Nao Victoria Foundation built El Galeon in 2009, and it has been sailing the world, covering more than 35,000 nautical miles under the Spanish flag.

El Galeon has sailed across the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans, as well as the Mediterranean, Red, South China and Aegean seas, the Bosphorus Strait and the Caribbean. So far, visitors have been able to step on its decks in almost 50 ports all over the world.

A couple days before Memorial Day weekend, El Galeon sailed into the Merrimack River and was anchored behind the Custom House Maritime Museum in Newburyport, towering over the boardwalk, its tall masts and rigging visible from many parts of the city.

From there, it was scheduled to sail to downtown Portland. Maine, until June 13, and then on to the Great Lakes.

In Newburyport, thousands of people, including 1,700 schoolchildren, were able to climb onboard, inspect the ship and ask questions of the dozen or more crew members. They could see the difference between a quarterdeck, main deck and poop deck, and learn how crews pinpointed their location and measured their speed without the help of electronic gadgets. They could see where the crew and captain ate and slept.

Most of all, they could get a feel for what it was like to travel the world 500 years ago.

For more information about El Galeon, visit www.fundacionnaovictoria.org,

Kathy Cleveland can be reached at 673-3100 or kcleveland@cabinet.com.

High & mighty

NEWBURYPORT, Mass. – Five hundred years ago, huge sailing ships plied the oceans. Called galleons, they fought wars, transported cargo between European ports and protected smaller ships from pirates.

Longer, lower and narrower than earlier kinds of vessels, they were designed to be faster and more maneuverable.

One notable galleon was the Golden Hind, the English ship in which Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe. Another was used by Britain to fight the Spanish Armada.

This year, people from all over the world have a chance to see and explore a full-scale replica of these remarkable vessels. A nonprofit called the Nao Victoria Foundation built El Galeon in 2009, and it has been sailing the world, covering more than 35,000 nautical miles under the Spanish flag.

El Galeon has sailed across the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans, as well as the Mediterranean, Red, South China and Aegean seas, the Bosphorus Strait and the Caribbean. So far, visitors have been able to step on its decks in almost 50 ports all over the world.

A couple days before Memorial Day weekend, El Galeon sailed into the Merrimack River and was anchored behind the Custom House Maritime Museum in Newburyport, towering over the boardwalk, its tall masts and rigging visible from many parts of the city.

From there, it was scheduled to sail to downtown Portland. Maine, until June 13, and then on to the Great Lakes.

In Newburyport, thousands of people, including 1,700 schoolchildren, were able to climb onboard, inspect the ship and ask questions of the dozen or more crew members. They could see the difference between a quarterdeck, main deck and poop deck, and learn how crews pinpointed their location and measured their speed without the help of electronic gadgets. They could see where the crew and captain ate and slept.

Most of all, they could get a feel for what it was like to travel the world 500 years ago.

For more information about El Galeon, visit www.fundacionnaovictoria.org,

Kathy Cleveland can be reached at 673-3100 or kcleveland@cabinet.com.